Welcome to this semester’s inaugural issue of the Weather Vane! Since 1939, the Weather Vane has been EMU’s weekly student-led newspaper, devoid of any input from faculty and staff, and we are looking forward to keeping up this tradition.
Claire Whetzel is new to the Weather Vane, but has ample writing and editing experience that she is excited to implement as Co-Editor in Chief. She is a senior Writing and Spanish major with a minor in English and is both anxious and excited to apply to graduate school this year for social work. In her spare time, she enjoys learning other languages, visiting science museums, and walking around JMU’s arboretum.
Jessica Chisolm is returning as Co-Editor in Chief from the Spring 2021 semester. Prior to editing, Jessica worked as a reporter for the Weather Vane during her first year. Aside from typical editor duties, she enjoys covering news stories and occasionally photographing for the paper. She is a Writing and Peacebuilding double major with a minor in Art and hopes to pursue graduate school post-graduation. She stays involved on campus by working in SFI’s gardens and spending time in Common Grounds. In her free time, she’s usually walking her dog, Rocky, or watching movies with her cat, Abby.
Though the Weather Vane began as a paper dominated by the voices of White, Mennonite men, our current constitution lists our primary goal as, “act[ing] as the student voice, representing the opinion and conscience of the student body and amplifying the voices of those who have been historically underrepresented on EMU’s campus.” Just as past editors have worked diligently in recent years to promote inclusion in the paper, it remains our priority for this upcoming semester. Though we will strive to represent all students in the Weather Vane, we welcome critique from the student body should we falter in doing so.
The Weather Vane has a designated staff but still encourages submissions of art, poetry, opinion pieces, stories, etc., from the student body. These can be sent to our email wvane@emu.edu or to our school emails, claire.whetzel@emu.edu and jessica.chisolm@emu.edu. However, we reserve the right to edit any submission before publication. We always welcome newcomers and recruit volunteer and work-study staff throughout the entire semester. Should you be interested in joining our team, you can contact us at the emails above or can get in touch with our advisor, Kirsten Beachy.
See you next week!
