Dear Readers of the Herald,
I want to start this letter with an update on the state of the Herald and some changes you’ll see. First, we have a completely overhauled website thanks to the hard work of our web editor, Jack Hanson. I highly encourage everyone to go check it out, as you can see current articles and archives going back to 1879. Additionally, the Herald will be going from two to three publications a semester, which may not seem significant, but it is a big step for the Herald. I cannot thank the writers, copy editors, and design editors enough for their increased dedication to student journalism. I am excited to see more voices represented as we publish more. The last change you can expect to see is advertisements from local Geneva businesses in the Herald, all thanks to our new Advertising Editor, Jackson Mischler.
All of this was done with the Colleges and the Geneva community in mind. One of the oldest publications in New York state, the Herald has been a part of the Colleges and Geneva community for 143 years. I am excited for the Herald to start playing a bigger part in the campus community and allow for more voices on this campus to be heard. On that note, I want to highlight some of the stories you will see in this edition. We have articles documenting changes that have occurred at the Colleges, including articles on the new LGBTQ+ Resource Center Coordinator, Dr. Joshua Bastian Cole, new student spaces, our interim Title IX director, and the inaugural seasons for different sports teams on campus. Additionally, we have a Q & A with Professor Kelly Johnson regarding her course Intro to Dances of the African Diaspora, which teaches antiracism while introducing students to different forms of African Diasporic dances. Finally, we have a story on the new AI ChatGPT and how it will affect students at the Colleges.
I want to end this note with a request to you readers, and that is to get involved. The recent years for our campus and country have been challenging, to say the least, and now more than ever, our campus needs student participation. Every day there are different ways for students to get involved, whether it be joining a club, attending a lecture, or even just filling out surveys about the school. If you see something you want to be changed on this campus, speak up and start a conversation about it. If you need a platform to tell a story you think other students need to hear, the Herald is here to help you publish it. A key part of any liberal arts education is challenging your beliefs and preparing you for what the colleges call a “Life of consequence.” This cannot happen, however, in a bubble. It demands us as students to get outside of our comfort zone and expose ourselves to ideas we would otherwise be ignorant to, and part of the Herald’s role on this campus is to do exactly that. Change cannot happen from afar. It needs active participation. My hope for the coming months is that our community will come together to make changes for the better, big or small, but that cannot happen without more productive engagement across the community.
Sincerely,
Paul Janes
Editor-in-Chief
