Below are the “Letters to the Reader” written by the Editor-in-Chief of the Herald. They are organized chronologically. They frequently address topics going on around the school or within the pages of the Herald.
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March 8, 2023
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
October 8, 2022
Editor’s Note Regarding the Recent Herald Edition
In the latest edition of the Herald, we published a piece titled “Perspectives on Civil Discourse from two Hobart Alumni,” which I chose to publish despite knowing it would not be well received. I did so because journalism aims to expose readers to ALL viewpoints, not just the ones with which the Herald staff or I agree. Walter Cronkite, one of the most respected journalists of all time, sums this up best when he says, “The profession of journalism ought to be about telling people what they need to know – not what they want to know.” While I disagree with the opinions the two alumni proposed in their piece, that is not a reason not to publish their piece. I can understand why people are upset with the article, but I ask that instead of attacking the Herald for choosing to publish the piece, you try to understand why I decided to publish this. As a student-run newspaper, our duty to the HWS community is to be a platform where every voice is welcome. It does not matter if the staff or I agree with that voice; we have a responsibility to publish it. I have a duty as the Editor to ensure that all voices are welcome in our community. I cannot stress enough that the Herald does not share the same views as the authors, and I left an Editor’s Note on the article for that reason. The Herald and any other journalistic publication have standards to meet if they want to claim integrity, and one of those foundational standards is showing both sides of an argument. If anyone disagrees with the alumni and wants to write against their opinions, I invite them to do so and will give you the same platform the alumni had.
Paul Janes
October 7, 2022
Dear Readers of the Herald,
Welcome back to the Colleges, and a warm welcome to the Classes of 2026!
We are back for another fall semester; for some, it is the first of many lasts, and for others, it is the start of a new chapter in their life. The beginning of any semester is always an exciting time, but there is the feeling that this semester will be special. We welcome President Gearan and his wife back to the Colleges after a five-year absence; we are celebrating our Bicentennial as an institution, and for the first time in what feels like forever, there is a sense of normalcy that has been missing since the pandemic. This is not an exhaustive list, every day, students and faculty around this campus do things that are worth celebrating, but sometimes they are not given the recognition they deserve. Our goal at the Herald is to highlight those unrecognized actions and bring attention to the things on this campus that we feel the community deserves to know about.
The role the Herald has always served and will continue to serve on this campus is as “a voice for the students.” In my time at the Herald, I have seen what being “a voice for the students” really means. Each member of the Herald and each Editor who came before me views our role differently. For me, though, being a voice for the students means we have a duty to report on what the students want to hear. To every student, we want to listen to your stories, your complaints, and anything that you think the rest of the community deserves to hear. The Herald is a platform for students to broadcast their voices and share their stories, and if anyone is interested in sharing that journey with us, then we cannot wait to hear what you have to say.
I am looking forward to this coming year as the Editor of the Herald, and I cannot wait to see what it brings. This is just the first of many meaningful issues to come, and my hope is that our community here at the Herald will only grow larger as the year goes on. I cannot do this alone, so I must give a lot of credit to every person who has contributed to this edition. Thank you to everyone who is part of the staff, shows up to the meetings, or picks up an edition when they come out. Without all of you, the Herald would not have been around for 142 years, and I hope that as long as HWS is an institution, the Herald will continue to fight the good fight that is student journalism.
Sincerely,
Paul Janes
Editor-in-Chief of the Herald
April 25, 2022
Dear Readers of the Herald,
The month of May is finally within reach, signaling the close of our Spring 2022 semester. In just a matter of weeks, the Classes of 2022 will be handed our diplomas and feel what it is like to be an HWS student for one last moment. And with that, I write my final letter as Editor-in-Chief of the Herald.
My past four years at HWS have been turbulent, but nonetheless full of life and growth, more than I ever would have imagined when I first set foot on campus. In my time here, I have been honored to serve as a photographer, a staff writer, and lastly the Editor of the Herald, as I’ve witnessed the changes, the hardships, and the resilience of this student body from 2018 until now. I’ve been honored to tell your stories and watch your peers tell your stories with a determined thoughtfulness to write the truths that need to be heard.
The Herald would not be what it is without the incredible team behind it, and I would not be able to lead it without the people who support me every step of the way. I would first like to thank our regular contributors, including Abby Leyson, Katelyn Oswalt, Jaheim Pierre, Paulina Tejada, Molly Matthews, Kyle Mast, Brayton Slusser, Mary Hanrahan, and Caleb Austin. Emma Lucas has been integral to our team, not only consistently writing great articles, but also taking photos that have saved us on many occasions. Kylie Rowland and Caitlin Carr have been essential copy editors as well, who have taken extra time to edit articles to be published.
Our Editorial Board has been the foundation of the Herald’s success, picking up extra work to meet our deadlines or when I cannot. Olivia Broomes, Julissa Ramirez, and Hrithik Biswas have all ensured word is spread about the Herald through social media outreach and critical engagement with the community. Our issues would not look nearly as polished and pleasing to the eye without Paul Janes, our Design Editor––thank you, Paul, for being a reliable and hard-working member of our team. Last but in no way least, I’d like to thank Morgan Murphy, our Copy Editor and my dear friend without which our articles would not be published. Thank you, Morgan, for standing by my side to reassure me, ease my anxieties, and carefully comb through dozens of articles.
I would also like to thank our faculty advisor, Charlie Wilson, who has always provided support and thoughtful input on all of our issues. He has provided steady and crucial guidance for our writers and me. Charlie, I wish you the best of luck with the future of the Herald and the next brilliant team that emerges.
And of course, thank you to my predecessors, Alex Kerai, Russell Payne, and Henry Duerr, who guided me throughout my time on the Herald, instilling the confidence in me to lead the paper with their words to inspire me.
I am so grateful to have led a team committed to representing student voices in the way these writers and contributors have. In our final issue, we have a diverse array of stories that touch upon some of the most important topics for our community. We see representation of HWS’ position on the Russia-Ukraine war, economic diversity, the questionable future of housing, and of course the triumphs of our clubs and sports.
As each of us take the next steps forward in our lives, whether that be on campus or as a proud graduate, I can confidently say that the Herald has realized and will continue to realize consequential work for this community and all who it touches. I know that I leave the Herald in some of the most capable hands, who will uphold its integrity and consequential storytelling as a voice for the students.
I would like to quote Alex Kerai ’18, our past Editor-in-Chief who helped inspire me from the first week of my freshman year:
“The Herald has survived as, and exists to be, a place for viewpoints and a forum for discussion. We cannot tell you what to think or what to do – you must make those decisions for yourself – but we can inform you.”
Our community has always been one of strength, emerging out of the pandemic and some of the most difficult semesters this campus has seen, with newfound power and always more stories to tell. I hope that all of our readers and contributors will continue speaking out and ensuring all have a place to voice their truths.
There is still work to be done. There are still infinite stories to be told, perspectives to be challenged, voices to be heard. We must consider all voices while upholding the values of truth, as I believe the Herald has always done. As journalism has the power to bring those stories thoughtfully and truthfully to the surface, so do the students of HWS.
Thank you all for making my past four years truly memorable and meaningful—as a student, as a journalist, and as your peer. Keep writing, speaking, working, and never let others overpower your voices in the process.
Sincerely,
Ani Freedman
Editor-in-Chief
March 11, 2022
Dear Readers of The Herald,
We are right at the halfway point of our Spring 2022 semester, celebrating Hobart’s 200th anniversary while nearing the end of our school year––and closing in on the final days at HWS for many students like myself. It has been a long haul to get to this moment; throughout semesters of “uncertainty” and “unprecedented times,” we finally see one another’s smiling faces walking through the library or during a fleeting moment in a stairwell. We have made it through the most brutal parts of winter and of isolation, but not without scars and sacrifices made during the process. And that does not mean we are fully healed nor past making those sacrifices, but it does mean we can feel proud of what we have already overcome as a community.
Of course, we still have to survive the relentless struggle of balancing work and social life to push through finals and the most grueling of assignments, and I hope everyone has enough left in them to put their hearts into what they’re doing. I don’t think I would survive if I didn’t.
As the year has gone on, I’ve been grateful to watch this first-year class grow into themselves as they arrived here unsure of what college life would bring in these difficult times. I’ve seen renewed resiliency and determination in them that inspires the classes above them, as they strive for equity and to make names for themselves here and into the future. I’ve seen collaboration and unity to hold institutions and systems accountable and continue a discourse of change, empowerment, and support for those who need it most.
Most of all, I’ve seen renewed spirit on this campus. From HWS Theatre productions to lively participation at student government, to the ever-present pride for our athletics, and of course I have to acknowledge the Writing Colleagues who are always ready on those yellow couches to support all of our writers. I can truly say that the HWS campus feels like a community again as Zoom collects dust on my computer and classes feel as engaging as they should be with a present student body to cultivate that.
Alongside this renewed life, HWS has seen capable students rise up to challenge injustice and inequity locally and internationally, with voices that continue to grow louder and stronger. And we need those voices to support one another as well as the horrors faced by Ukrainians throughout an unjust, propaganda-filled war fueled by greed and power. Graduating seniors will hold onto that voice of a community that they may leave behind, but will remain a part of them nonetheless. In my final months at HWS, I cannot wait to see the mark my senior class will leave on this campus, but most importantly, what mark the energized classes below us will imprint on us.
I am grateful for that spirit, the faculty, and the faces who ensure that the 2021-2022 school year will mean something for those who witnessed it and those who made it come to life. Good luck to everyone as we power through midterms and shift from the bitter cold to the tolerable rain and wind that will hopefully bring warmth come springtime.
I leave readers with this: We at the Herald stand in solidarity with Ukraine and all victims of unjust wars. We must remember that Ukraine is not alone in this experience––we must acknowledge the ongoing genocides and wars in Lebanon, China, and throughout countries often forgotten amidst the slurry of media we consume daily. The Herald remains a voice for the students throughout this time, only able to do so because of the powerful voices at HWS.
Sincerely,
Ani Freedman
Editor-in-Chief
April 22, 2019
Dear Readers of the Herald,
This is the final stretch: the final few weeks before graduation and the end of the year. This also marks my final issue as Editor-in-Chief of the Herald. I have been honored and exceptionally proud to steward this great campus paper through a lot of changes the last year and a half at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. We have an incredible staff of writers, photographers, designers, and editors that I have been thrilled to have the opportunity to work alongside this year. I am ecstatic that we have so many first years joining the staff, and I hope they will continue to serve the Herald for years to come.
I want to quickly single out a few people whom I have worked closely alongside this past year. First our regular staff and contributors like Will Fuller, who dives into topics that are fascinating; Elise Donovan, who contributes meticulously researched articles; Niki Russell, whose opinion I value highly and whom I am always happy to see in our pages; Reed Herter, whose articles always tackle new and interesting subjects; and Ryan Skinner, whose commitment to research never wanes.
Our team at the Herald includes a truly incredible Board, without whom this publication would cease to exist. Abbey Frederick, who is abroad this semester, did incredible work in the fall writing fantastic articles and designing our first Arts Calendar and the first ever cover image for the October Coordinate System issue. Henry Duerr has been a great help with design the last few weeks and has continued work on the podcast as well as following leads for the fantastic Sodexo real food article in this issue. Ani Freedman has written great articles and, when complemented with her exceptional work as our Chief Photographer, who covered the Presidential announcement and whose work never ceases to amaze, it is truly an honor to see her dedication to the Herald – especially when she gets photo assignments with hours to go before publication. Last year, Albright Dwarka came to me with an idea for a weekly news/ interview series, and I am proud to say that, twenty-four episodes in, The Seneca Scene is going strong under his leadership and dedication. Our incredible Copy Editor Olivia Rowland helps edit every article, along with writing her own fantastic pieces, and stays late during layout to read through the final edition with us to make sure the paper is legible. Arts & Entertainment Editor Wren Andrews has brought the section to new heights through her focus on the Geneva arts with a calendar of events and in-depth music pieces. Finally, Grace Ruble is our fantastic News Editor, consistently writing brilliantly researched pieces, and someone I rely on to craft an issue. She is my right-hand for the Herald; I value her opinion and am so glad she will be stewarding the Herald next year after returning from abroad. I cannot wait to see what she does next.
I cannot emphasize enough how incredible our team is this year; the Herald would not be possible without them.
I would not be here if not for the great editors before me as well: Danny Schonning and Taylor Murray, as well as our two senior editors from last year: Quinn Cullum and Dan Bristol. Working with the four of them has helped shaped the Herald into the campus newspaper you are reading today.
A big thank you also goes to our advisor and mentor Charlie Wilson who has helped students at this paper in the past years. He is a wealth of knowledge and a lot of our work would not have been if not for his advice and guidance.
At the Herald we have been committed to student voices, from our writers to the stories we cover. But with this issue we are doing something different with our main story. We wanted to hear more students’ voices and give them a platform to amplify their stories.
The impetus for the story in this edition on race and diversity came from discussions on campus and a recognition that, for things to get better, the conversations needed to be broadcast to the wider community and be engaged with by the whole campus. These pieces aim to begin a conversation at Hobart and William Smith Colleges on race, diversity, and equity.
In our full coverage of this topic, we have an article contextualizing race at colleges and universities, as well as interviews with faculty and staff that aim to explore race and diversity on a macro level at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. That article endeavors to set the scene for the viewpoints that explore race, diversity, and equity from an individual perspective. There is also an article on our research methods that explains and details how these articles and perspectives were collected. If anyone feels their voice was not heard within this special issue, please send a viewpoint to herald@hws.edu and we will publish it on our website.
This is an important time for the Colleges. It is also an exciting time. On July 1, Joyce Jacobsen will begin her tenure as President, and with it the Colleges will embark on a new chapter. The past year has been important in the development of our institution and ensuring a proper legacy for our time at Hobart and William Smith. However, it does not end with the appointment of President-elect Jacobsen. Instead, the work is just beginning.
My notes to you, our readers, this past year have been focused on apathy. They have been focused on student voices. They have been focused on conversations and change. That does not end here. In fact, now it is more important than ever before to ensure that your voice is heard and that you care about what goes on in the community you are part of.
Please remember: the most dangerous thing is an uninformed public.
It is impossible to will change through thoughts or hushed conversations. But by sharing your story, by knowing what is going on, and by taking action you can change anything: a community, a campus, a world. Recognize that power, harness it, and use it for good.
The Herald has survived as, and exists to be, a place for viewpoints and a forum for discussion. We cannot tell you what to think or what to do – you must make those decisions for yourself – but we can inform you. That is our goal with this issue and every other issue that we publish.
We are hoping that you hear the voices.
The work does not end here. Just as I said last year, the great work has begun. It is as true now as it was then. We are still moving forward; there is still work to do.
Now it is up to you – I leave this in your hands. Please take care of it and this community, please work hard to sustain it and make it even better than when you first arrived. I wish you all the best of luck and hope that you continue to stay informed and listen to the voices of the people around us.
They are talking to you.
Sincerely,
Alex Kerai
Editor-in-Chief of the Herald
April 5, 2019
Dear Readers of the Herald,
With April here – although it certainly does not feel like it yet –the time has arrived for a celebration of academic achievement and athletic excellence in anticipation of this year’s commencement. However, something will be a bit different…
As Grace Ruble chronicles in her excellent piece on Native land at Hobart and William Smith Colleges, the place where you picked this newspaper up, and probably where you are reading it, were once the lands of Native tribes who were later massacred and exiled by white settlers. She also chronicles the initiative, led by Hobart Dean Khuram Hussain and the Hobart Dean’s Council, to acknowledge this land and recognize the impact it has on our traditions and our education. It is work that is important – our history here is important – and the work of all students in beginning to recognize that is essential moving forward.
This issue of the Herald is really fascinating in that it covers a lot of the problem-solvers at HWS – people who are not taking a backseat to apathy but are working to establish to change and bring to light injustice or inequity on campus. Grace’s article is only one example: Olivia Rowland profiles the feminist activist Instagram account Boss Bitch Theory while William Smith Congress promotes their new pilot program for free menstrual hygiene products and Niki Russell writes about the lack of sidewalk and food (among other things) for students at the arts campus. These are students who are taking charge, leading, and instituting change.
However, they should not be the only ones.
As we near the end of the academic year, it is imperative that voices are heard so that there is enough time to make change before the next group of students arrive. Already, these groups on campus – like William Smith Congress and Boss Bitch Theory – are in a place to foster change. It is important that they are not the only ones. This is our school – our community – and it is important that we help it remain current throughout the years. Things change, people change, institutions change; what matters is that we remember and acknowledge the change without being stuck in the past. Over half a century ago, people used to dress up as Agayentah and Bart and put on plays, but here we are, in 2019, having a discussion about our traditions, heritage, and past as it relates to the original settlers. If people and institutions never evolved, that sort of conversation would never have happened.
But they do. They change because of you. Because you see an injustice or inequity and decide to stand up for what you believe is right.
That time to make a stand is not ending because it is April and the weather is going to be nice and the water will be warm enough for swimming – it is ending because most people have decided not to make their voices heard and so the cycle continues. I recognize that I am saying a lot of what I normally say in these letters – that people, the students, need to act if they want anything to happen – but that is because most people don’t act, and when people do act it works! Look at these pages, look at our past issues, as examples of that.
This message is not going to be any less urgent in the coming weeks. You can wait around for summer to come and to be off-campus, but these issues will be prevalent in this community or another. All that matters now is how much you care you about them. The responsibility is on you as people of this community to stand up for what you think is right.
The time is now to make a change, to pass on the lessons you have learned. I hope you will seize this opportunity. I hope you will leave your mark on these Colleges. I hope you will be a force for good, positive change.
I cannot wait to see what you do next…
Sincerely,
Alex Kerai
Editor-in-Chief of the Herald
February 22, 2019
Dear Readers of the Herald,
Welcome back to campus and what an exciting few weeks it has been! Two weeks ago, we witnessed the historic announcement of the first woman President of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and this week brings the announcement of Dorothy Wickenden ’76 as the 2019 Commencement speaker. It is shaping up to be an exciting spring semester!
On that front, we have an incredible team working to bring you the most up-to-date news and investigations relating to campus – and we have some very exciting things in the works. We also have our podcast, The Seneca Scene, that is bringing listeners weekly interviews every Wednesday with people on campus. To continue to get your Herald fix, subscribe now wherever you get your podcasts.
We have been working very hard this past year to engage students in campus issues and create less apathy around campus. The student body has endless potential to create change at HWS. We see this take root in proposals like Nuzhat Wahid’s walkway or in the opportunity to run for Student Trustee – two subjects covered in this issue. These are avenues for students to ensure that their voice is heard.
As we near March, I want to also note another anniversary that is coming up: March 1 is the 140th anniversary of the Herald which has been continuously published at Hobart and William Smith Colleges ever since. Although writers and editors have changed over the years, as have the topics covered, one thing has not: The Herald is written for, and aims to benefit, the students but – in doing so – asks for their cooperation in return; it asks that they do not demonstrate apathy but instead take direct action and create change.
A newspaper is made to inform, and through informing it hopes to educate its public such that they can act in any which way they deem necessary. The news is here to ensure we know things; it hopes, but does not require, that we act on that knowledge.
For the past semester, I have written in these letters that HWS is in a state of transition, that things are in flux, and that this the time to institute change. The Colleges are at a crossroads and it is the people currently at the institution who will help chart the path forward.
I believe strongly in the importance of knowledge and action. And I do not believe it is possible, in the current climate we live in today, to have one without the other. To know is to act; to act is to change. I was talking to a professor after class recently and he mentioned that most of the laws and rights we take for granted today came from a group of people banding together and fighting for what they believed in. That could be with social movements such as Civil Rights activism or the revolution that began this country in 1765. Everything that we take granted came from a group taking action.
It is time to pay that forward.
It is the final semester of my senior year here at Hobart and William Smith Colleges and I have been re-reading old editions of the Herald trying to figure out what we can do next to help the students and improve our community. But what I have also realized is that it is not just up to me; it is up to all of you. As one person, the Editor of this HWS mainstay that is nearing its 140th-anniversary, I can only do so much: I work to bring you the news. It means nothing with apathy; it means everything with action.
This is the time to figure out what you want to do with your time at Hobart and William Smith Colleges. This is the time to think ahead.
The great work has begun, my friends, and it is time to let your voices – the voices of the students, faculty, and staff; the voices of Hobart and William Smith Colleges – to be heard.
I look forward to hearing them.
Sincerely,
Alex Kerai
Editor-in-Chief of the Herald
December 7, 2018
Dear Readers of the Herald,
This is our last issue of the semester and what a semester it has been!
From updates on the Presidential Search and Title IX to our full issue
covering the Coordinate System with viewpoints from transgender,
genderqueer, non-binary, and questioning students and alums, it has
been a semester full of interesting developments and stories on the
Hobart and William Smith campus. (And we are already prepping for
next semester!) There is change afoot in many ways, and it has been
quite exciting to see renewed student interest in what is going on across
campus, and to see initiative being taken as we chart a course forward
for the Colleges.
I have also been very impressed with the new student leaders of the
Herald who continue to do incredible work. Our list at the left of this
page is quite impressive, and represents the range and depth each of
these talented writers brings to the Herald from photography to design.
For all the students on campus, I hope that you will consider writing for
the Herald next semester as well.
This is, as I have emphasized with each issue of the Herald, a time of
great change at the Colleges; it is a time when the voice of the students
needs to be heard. We have worked hard at the Herald to try and tell
as many student stories as possible this semester, but I know that we
have missed many. There are people on campus who feel silent and
forgotten, but they are not. It is important that each voice is recognized
as HWS plots a new course forward. This is not the time for apathy or
apprehension, it is the time for action and change.
I also want to take this moment to highlight The Seneca Scene, which
is the podcast from the Herald and has been working all semester
to highlight new voices on campus. It was launched in May with an
inaugural episode looking back on the past academic year, but has
continued this semester with guests coming in each week to discuss
various topics. The guests – or the topics – are related to the campus
community and provide insight into various research or interests of
Professors and students.
So far we have a State of the Colleges series with President Patrick
McGuire, Dean Khuram Hussain, and Dean Lisa Kaenzig, along with
pieces highlighting the Fribolin Farm, Gravitational Wave research, and
mental health awareness. These topics are integrally connected to
the HWS experience, and it allows for us at the Herald to cover more
ground, tell more stories, and amplify more voices.
Over the holiday break, please consider listening to the episodes on our
website, iTunes, or Stitcher – they are all incredibly interesting and
show the vast array of talent and interests on the HWS campus.
I hope that you all have a successful finals period and a restful break;
the great work continues next semester. Until then…
Sincerely,
Alex Kerai
Editor-in-Chief of the Herald
October 19, 2018
Dear Readers of the Herald,
At this moment in our Colleges’ history, we are at a unique juncture of change, where reform is possible and we – as students, faculty, staff, and alums – can lead it. This edition is a step in that direction.
Student newspaper must function as an agent for student discussion. 139 years ago, we stated our purpose as a means of communication on “matters that need reform” and a call to action for students to take charge. That has not changed today. I will continuously reference that statement of purpose because it is remarkably prescient but also shows how Hobart and William Smith has always been a place for change – an institution that thrives on student involvement and activity. Again: that has not changed today. The Herald is still “A Voice for the Students” and works to put forth student voices as a means to educate and inform the whole community.
Which brings us to today.
Over a month ago, in mid-September, we began work on the coordinate system. Instead of embarking on an investigation of the system, I decided it would not be right for me – as Editor-in-Chief and a cisgender man – to explore the system when the majority of discussion recently has centered around trans, non-binary, and gender non-conforming students; I cannot speak for those students, and their voices need to be heard.
When I knew that I could not be the one telling their story, I began emailing students and alums that I knew to ask if they would be interested. I noted that I do not have a full understanding of how the coordinate system impacts transgender, non-binary, and gender non-conforming identifying / questioning students and alums; I would be the wrong person to write about it because I do not have those experiences. Instead, we asked students and alums to write their own and send them to us.
Since the current discussion focuses primarily on “the voices of transgender and non-binary students and graduates” within the coordinate system, as a letter signed by forty-members of the faculty said, we wanted to highlight those voices. Each perspective was written solely by a transgender, non-binary, and/or gender non-conforming identifying / questioning student or alum and represents their viewpoint; we have not edited, for content or length, any of the viewpoints published. They are incredibly powerful and diverse in their range of opinions and feelings towards the coordinate system.
In addition to the viewpoints, we have a piece on the context and history of the coordinate system at HWS. We endeavour to answer many questions posed to us by current students, and have reached out to many sources to find the most accurate information possible. In doing so, we have received a statement from Interim President Patrick A. McGuire, who addresses questions we posed to the administration. We also met with William Smith Dean Lisa Kaenzig and Hobart Dean Khuram Hussain to discuss the coordinate system and their roles as Deans of coordinate colleges.
We have an incredible cover, designed specially for this issue by our Design Editor Abigail Frederick. Her work is incredible and elevates this edition of the Herald to something special. She took a concept and created something extraordinary for our front cover.
I want to thank all of the people who submitted viewpoints to this issue. There are eight incredible pieces of writing (beginning on page 5 in our “Coordinate System” section) from writers who are both brave and pioneers in this renewed discussion on campus life, campus climate, and the coordinate system.
Our goal, as the Herald, is to not take a stand on this issue; instead, we want the voices of these students in their viewpoints to discuss the coordinate system. We want to provide information so that students, faculty, staff, and alums can have informed conversations on next steps. These pages contain only a small amount of viewpoints – particularly from transgender, non-binary, and/or gender non-conforming identifying / questioning community – but it is a start.
These voices are speaking to us and trying to be heard.
It is time to listen.
Sincerely,
Alex Kerai
Editor-in-Chief of the Herald
September 28, 2018
Dear Readers of the Herald,
Welcome back to campus – and welcome as well to the Classes of 2022! As we continue adjusting to the new school year and semester, there are a lot of changes taking place, from a day added to Orientation to the Presidential Search.
This is the 139th year of the Herald: it launched in March of 1879 as The Hobart Herald before merging with William Smith College’s Twig on April 23, 1942, to become the Herald. I was recently going through the archives and found, among many other great issues, the first issue of The Hobart Herald. It had many advertisements on its front page, along with a note on the structure of Hobart College, written by the President at the time, Rev. Hinsdale. But what stuck out to me most was at the bottom left of the page. The title of the article read “Purpose” and it laid out the mission of the newspaper to its fellow students at Hobart College:
“The Herald is not published to present grumblers’ and growlers’ grievances, though it has always been ready to give publicity to matters need reform, and will continue [to be] ready and willing to afford space to such communications; yet its object is a higher one. Its aim is to benefit the students of Hobart, and it calls on them in return for their co-operation.”
Although we are now two Colleges and the Herald writes and functions as the voice for both, I do not think that many things about the original statement of purpose have changed in the past 139 years. In fact, I think that now, more than ever, the Herald is a relevant institution which needs the cooperation of its readers and fellow students to make a difference.
The Colleges are at a unique place in their history when we can advocate for great change and shape the future of Hobart and William Smith. I have spoken frequently about how we are at a crossroads and the decisions this year will have lasting ramifications for future generations. On our podcast, The Seneca Scene, Hobart Dean Khuram Hussain spoke of the upcoming bicentennial for the founding of Hobart College and how the traditions within those ceremonies may have to be re-examined. There has been renewed conversations on whether the coordinate system is viable today, and what avenues there are for changing or abolishing the system. The Colleges are at a crossroads, and the need for change and decisive action is clear. But it can only be taken with the cooperation of the students of the Colleges: you have the power and voice to lead the charge.
To our new readers: welcome to the Herald, the student newspaper of Hobart and William Smith Colleges that is published monthly by and for the students of the Colleges. We function as an independent student news source, unaffiliated or bound to any faculty or staff; our only rule is to abide by journalistic standards in an effort to be a fair, fact-based and informative news source for the community. That is the renewed journalistic mission of the Herald today.
But we still call on you for your cooperation and assistance in the issues we discuss. We cannot do what we do without you and without your work as students and agents of change. It is your voice that we represent; this is your student newspaper.
For four years of our young adult lives, we live and work and study on this campus; we call it home. In order to be part of this community, we cannot be apathetic. We must co-operate and work together to maintain the ideals of Hobart and William Smith for the next generation. Our aim as the Herald is still to benefit the students – we are a voice for the students – but we do call on students in return for advocacy and action.
In April, the Herald concluded its year with its strongest issue to date. We plan to continue that level of journalism this year. There is too much going on, of great important to the future of the institution, at Hobart and William Smith Colleges to not report or inform our community. We will endeavor to bring you the latest news and updates in print, online, through social media, and on our podcast.
I wrote in my last letter to our readers, back in April, that our great work was now beginning. I believe that sentiment to still be true. There is work to be done and we must chart our next course. We aim to benefit the students of Hobart and William Smith Colleges, and we call on you in return for your co-operation. Let your voice be heard; this is not the time for idle apathy.
Sincerely,
Alex Kerai
Editor-in-Chief of the Herald
April 6, 2018
Dear Readers of the Herald,
In January, I came back from abroad and held a meeting with the editors of the Herald to determine what topics we wanted to cover for the year. From that meeting on January 19, we came up with a variety of topics that many of you have already seen covered in the pages of the Herald this semester: food scarcity on campus, the mistreatment of Sodexo workers, student bands, the college store, and the 2018 Commencement speaker.
One of the other big topics we discussed at that meeting was Title IX and sexual assault on our campus. The 2017 “Living Safely” report had been published by the Office of Campus Safety and noted that there were fourteen reports of rape on the campus in that year. Those numbers troubled us and we wanted to figure out where the issues were. In the course of nearly three months, we interviewed eighteen individuals on this campus – students, survivors of sexual harassment and assault, faculty, and staff – and began to discover that the only way a change will come about is through the students.
With April being sexual assault awareness month, there is no better time to discuss this issue on campus. The graduating classes of 2018 matriculated into an institution that was grappling with fallout from The New York Times article. Their college experience was defined by the institution’s attempt to bring its response to sexual misconduct into compliance with the law and attempt to make this safer for all students.
The Herald stands as “A Voice for the Students” and that is why we took on this topic and are publishing about it today. It is something that will only change with student momentum behind it, and it is something that needs student voices.
I want to commend the work of The Herald News Team in their investigation and subsequent articles. They have done a tremendous amount of work in securing sources and interviews, documents and statistics in a short period of time on an extraordinarily difficult topic. An Op-Ed was submitted to the Herald as well, with the wish that they be published anonymously due to a fear of retribution from campus culture, and I am honored to publish all of those pieces today. It takes incredible courage to write what these individuals did, and I hope that the plethora of pieces we have on this disturbing topic will galvanize students and bring the student voice to the forefront of this discussion.
During that same January meeting we determined that we were going to make a push to find more writers and I am so thankful that we found such a talented staff to make the Herald a reality every month. It is incredibly difficult to put together a newspaper for each edition – especially because we are also a small paper with a small staff. But to have put out three editions, with all student writing, is a huge accomplishment that would not have been possible without the incredible contributions of our student writers. I am grateful to each and every one of them for their hard work and dedication to student journalism at Hobart & William Smith.
I want to take a moment to specifically thank every writer who has contributed to the Herald this semester. I also want to thank the Editorial Team – Quinn Cullum in News, Mary Warner in Arts & Entertainment, and Dan Bristol who was both the Photography and Managing Editor – who have ensured that all sections of writing, and photography, run smoothly and are ready for print each month. In particular though, I want to thank our senior staff writers who will be graduating in a few weeks: Phoebe MacCurrach, Kathleen Fowkes, Jackie Fisher, Quinn Cullum, and Dan Bristol.
Quinn and Dan served as Editors and we have worked closely together these past few months. As News and Managing Editor, respectively, I am grateful for their friendship, advice, and writing. Their contributions to the Herald have been profound and will reverberate beyond these final pages that we publish together.
I cannot help but note that the Herald seems to have entered into a new era of relevance on our campus. We have become a voice for the students and it is because of the incredible and committed work by this team of editors and writers. With this being our last issue of the semester, I would like to thank everyone for their continued support of the Herald and for student journalism on our campus.
I want to close by saying that we, the students of Hobart & William Smith Colleges, have the chance to make change on our campus for the betterment of our friends and peers. I hope that this issue will serve as a wake-up call and lead to discussions that do not ever stop. Title IX is one of the biggest issues the Herald will ever write about – it’s one of the biggest issues our campus will ever face – and we cannot let it pass by.
We need to act. We need to act together, not just as Hobart or William Smith but as one college united under a singular goal to make those on our campus feel safe, secure, and valued. We need to start acting today.
Now, the great work begins. Let us keep it up and never let the momentum stop. Maintain the voice for every student, and never fall silent again.
Sincerely,
Alex Kerai
Editor-in-Chief of the Herald
February 9, 2018
Dear Readers of the Herald,
The Herald as an institution exists to be by and for the students of Hobart & William Smith Colleges. Our topics cover those relating to campus events or activities, and all of our writers and staff are students on campus. Our goal is to reveal the truth of HWS and contribute to a better form of journalism that leads to a safer and more productive campus culture for all students. I feel it necessary to repeat this mission statement as we continue our refocusing of the Herald. I think it is also important to note that we are a separate entity from the institution of the Colleges; we do receive funding to publish from the Budget Allocation Committee, but we do not commit to any oversight or regulation over what we cover or what we print. Instead, we adhere to journalistic and free press standards that allow us to dig deeper into the campus and not just cover surface level issues. We are purposefully not monitored or governed by the Colleges; we are a free press.
I think that it is important to recognize those facets of the Herald and to understand that we are not just a student newspaper looking to have fun and write a couple of cool stories. We are here to look deeper into the Colleges and to highlight the student voice. That it is paramount to what we do and bears repeating: the Herald exists to highlight the student voice.
Since the publication of our last issue, I have heard a lot of conversations revolving around the Herald and what we published, as well as had conversations with numerous people about our content and what we do. Recently, I have been thinking a lot about the purpose of our paper in this day and age, and the importance of a separate and free press that is allowed to pursue stories without fear of retribution. (Granted, those stories have to be related to students, but it is important to me and to the Herald as a whole that we operate with the respect of the Colleges and are free to do our own work.) But we are not just concerned with writing stories that challenge the administration. There are a lot of great things going on around campus that we also want to highlight! Our Arts & Entertainment section has been a great showcase of incredible artistic achievements on campus. We aim to provide a full view of the campus, covering aspects of life at HWS that are not always highlighted.
The Herald, much like other institutions at the Colleges, is at a fork in the road – a turning point – where we have the power to change the perception of the campus and further change. To do that, we aim to start to start conversations within the student body – and I want to thank everyone who has talked to someone about the Herald because that means that our message and our work is getting out there. Our focus, as a newspaper, is on pieces that will be informative to the campus community. We publish Opinion pieces by students, we highlight student work and achievement, and we do a lot of pieces that dig into topics with the school. One thing that I am particularly proud of – and I would like to encourage all students reading the Herald to consider – are the writers who have contributed pieces to us recently. In this issue too, we have seven special pieces by guest writers contributing an Op-Ed on the library, a reflection of time spent on Budget Allocation Committee, and five pieces from Student Trustee candidates. Along with our staff’s fantastic contributions with each issue, these writers allow us to showcase the diverse array of voices on campus.
I had a conversation recently with Dan Bristol, the Managing Editor of the Herald where, as we were discussing the stories for this issue, it became apparent that we were moving away from the typical definition of what a newspaper does. Although we do have “news” pieces, a lot of our work tends to focus on the experience of being a student at Hobart & William Smith. To that end, Dan noted that we are a newspaper, but more important “we are also the voice of the students.” In this issue alone we have an amazing group of fifteen contributors who are writing about topics such as Finger Lakes Photo/Plays at the Smith Opera House, HWS Just Facts, and the role of Student Trustees on campus among other things – they are adding to the voice of the students. All of these topics relate to students, and all are written from a student prospective. Most importantly, they cover a wide variety of student life on campus.
The point is that we are positioning the Herald to function as a voice of the students and a way to promote conversation among students about a variety of topics. I hope that we have, with each issue, provoked discussions across all areas of the Hobart & William Smith Colleges community, and instilled within students an inherent to talk about the issues they may have with the school. I believe that it is possible that we can fix things that we, the students, to believe issues on the campus. We are in a unique position. There is a new President who is installing a new administration while actively preparing for a capital campaign. We, the students, are in a position to make change. All we need to start the conversation.
Thank you all for reading this issue and thank you to everyone who has talked about our last issue. We are glad to be reaching an audience within the student body and various communities on campus. Our role is to be a voice for the student body – the Herald is an institution by and for the students of Hobart & William Smith Colleges. I look forward to the discussions and conversations that we will have on campus in the near future.
I look forward to hearing from our readers about the stories we publish. Please feel free to contact us at herald@hws.edu with questions or comments – or if you would like to help contribute and write for the Herald this semester.
Our next issue will be published April 7.
Sincerely,
Alex Kerai
Editor-in-Chief of the Herald
February 9, 2018
Dear Readers of the Herald,
In 1879, the Herald was established by the students of Hobart & William Smith Colleges for the students of Hobart & William Smith Colleges as well as the greater community. As we began our transition in the fall semester to a refocused Herald, there were discussions over what constituted student journalism and what was important for the Herald, as the student newspaper, to cover. Beyond the confines of our campus there have been many opinions about the integrity of journalism and its reception within the community. This has influenced how journalists work and the pieces they report on; this should not be the case.
In November, the Editorial Board of The Middlebury Campus published a piece responding to criticism of their coverage of the campus by the administration. They noted that the role of the campus newspaper is not to publicize a positive perception of the school – that is the role of Communications, Marketing, and Admissions. The campus newspaper is the platform for the student experience. That is, undoubtedly, the goal of every student newspaper and yet our seems to have been lagging in recent years.
This is not a space to place blame, but rather to acknowledge a changing climate where the stories we report now have the chance to make a difference in the way we live and study at Hobart & William Smith. With the newly inaugurated President Vincent planning to embark upon a capital campaign rumored to be around half a billion dollars, the Herald, and the student body as a whole, is in a unique position to advocate for change on the campus –and to have their voices heard.
Reading through the Campus piece, and following the wide-range of articles published on the current United States government, has instilled within the team at the Herald a need to provoke and unveil truth on campus. We cannot be scared of retribution or the idea of being shut down; we are a free-press institution removed from the arm of the campus administration, a separate entity that works solely for the student body. There are not ties that bind us to the institution we report on, save from the fact that we are students here, and our work with the newspaper cannot be classified as being for or against the insitution or the people it represents but rather for the needs of the students. If we cannot allow for students and faculty to engage in discussion this semester over the stories we publish, then the Herald will have succeeded in its goals.
To that end, we must do better to reveal the truth of HWS and contribute to a better form of journalism. Yes, there are campus-wide human interest stories that are important to cover – such as the President’s Inauguration – that will not provide anything new for the student body or be groundbreaking pieces of journalism, yet it is our job to not continuously produce such material but instead to challenge both our staff and our readers in their perception of the HWS community so that the Herald becomes a reliable publication noted on campus for tackling subjects that may otherwise lay dormant.
There are stories we can cover and problems that we can bring to the forefront of campus discussion without glorifying them or becoming a publication that runs on gossip and sleazy headlines. We instead will be the place to have discussions about what makes Hobart & William Smith tick and what can be done to make it better. That is the key: to become a discussion based publication wherein we both initiate and encourage the discussion of topics that give students a voice in proceedings – be them in Department meetings, with the Board of Trustees, or anywhere else on campus.
We are members of the campus community and we have a say, it is important that we let our voices be heard for reasons both good and bad as we are all on this campus hoping to have a good experience and any improvements should be vocalized. We are a publication that goes all over Geneva and is supposed to speak for the campus. If anything, these past few months have showed me how important a free press is and the potential it has to make a difference.
Consider this our new mission statement. As we move forward, and I begin my tenure as Editor-in-Chief of this great institution, we strive to report the news and contribute to discussions that will lead to a more positive campus culture for all students. The Herald has the potential to be the publication that enables the student voice. For the next issues that we publish this semester and beyond we will strive to meet that goal, and we hope that you, the students and members of this campus, will join us unequivocal so that we can generate change in this institution.
I look forward to hearing from our readers about the stories we publish. Please feel free to contact us at herald@hws.edu with questions or comments – or if you would like to help contribute and write for the Herald this semester.
Our next issue will be published March 2. Now, the great work begins.
Sincerely,
Alex Kerai
Editor-in-Chief of the Herald