To say that this semester is different from previous years is an understatement. We are living in a time of change. We are faced with a global pandemic, civil unrest, political tensions and hundreds of unanswered questions. It’s hard to say what the next few months will look like.
But as the year continues to unfold, the Southern Accent is committed to keeping students informed. Journalism is more crucial now than ever. We consider it our responsibility to be a bridge of communication and information for every person on campus.
As you flip through the pages of this first issue, you’ll notice that we’ve made a few adjustments. First of all, we’ve added a new section called Collegedale News. Right now, the city of Collegedale is a practically news desert—a community where news coverage is sparse and sometimes non-existent. As journalists, we want to address this issue. Though we understand that we are unequipped to cover every story, we are devoted to reporting on what we can, including the city’s upcoming elections.
This year we are also adding a “Corrections and Clarifications” space, found on page 2 of the newspaper. Though we try our best to accurately and thoroughly report each story that we cover, there are times that mistakes happen. At the Accent, we take this seriously and want to address these errors. Any corrections from previous issues will be marked in this space. We want to encourage our readers to reach out to us if they spot an inaccuracy.
Furthermore, due to COVID-19, distribution of the newspaper around campus this semester is being limited to the first floor of Brock Hall, the first floor of Wright Hall and the Student Center. If you’d like to receive a copy of the newspaper delivered to your dorm mailbox, please fill out the application found in our Instagram’s bio (@sauaccent). You can also sign up to receive a weekly electronic copy of the paper sent to your Southern email.
Finally, we are excited to announce that we’ve launched a new website this year. You can find it at http://www.southern-accent.org. Our goal is to increase our online presence with the timely coverage of breaking news. In addition, we are working to transfer articles from previous volumes to the new site. We do not want to lose this small but significant coverage of Southern’s history.
The year holds many unanswered questions, but the Accent team promises to be a reliable source. Our staff consists of more than 30 people working together to make this weekly paper possible, and we are all aware of the huge responsibility that lies on our shoulders. We promise to never take our jobs lightly.
In the meantime, we present to you the 76th volume of the Southern Accent. Enjoy!
