Welcome, Weather Vane readers, to our first publication of the new academic year. As we enter into our 71st volume and continue our 85th year of production, we, as this semester’s co-editors, would like to introduce ourselves.

I (Erika) have served with the Weather Vane since the spring of my first year. I joined with the intent of only being a photographer, but was (happily) roped into writing early on. Now, as a senior Elementary Education major, this fall will be my sixth semester on the Weather Vane and my second time serving as co-editor. As I return to the co-editor role more confident and experienced, I’ve spent lots of time considering my hopes for this semester. Of course, I hope to cover topics related to my interests, such as education, and to continuously improve the quality of the papers we print for you all. However, there’s one goal, above all else, that I hope to achieve: to highlight and amplify the voices of our community. The beauty of an independent paper is the freedom and drive to feature and preserve the people and stories often overlooked by large-scale journalists. If not for student journalism, these finer details would otherwise be forgotten. 

I (Caleb) am a sophomore, triple majoring in Sociology, Political Science, and Spanish. I’m a part of the Cross Country and Track teams, the Disc Golf team, the EMU Chamber Singers, and last but certainly not least, the Weather Vane. This is my third semester with the paper, and I hope to be able to contribute to it for many more. I joined the staff last fall with the intention of improving my writing skills as well as learning generally about journalism, something I had not learned about much in high school. After making mistakes, learning from those mistakes, and writing a lot of words last year, I can definitely say that I am accomplishing that mission. This semester’s mission, however, is to produce a paper that people look forward to reading each time we print. I want to ensure that we are bringing to light the stories that have been shoved in the dark, covering possible issues as transparently as possible. I would like this paper to be a platform for the voices of concerned, or even enraged students on campus, to channel your voice somewhere that will be around for the future of EMU. Lastly, I hope that we as a staff can get some variety into your regularly scheduled programming, whatever that may look like. 

Please bear with us as we get the ball rolling again this semester, and be sure to reach out with any inquiries. 

Welcome to another year of the Weather Vane.