Written by: Matthew Orquia
This summer, as I contemplated my newly appointed role as editor-in-chief of the Southern Accent, I used up countless pages in my notebook to write down ideas and goals for the next volume of the paper.
I’m not afraid to say that I have high expectations for the Accent this year. Some of my goals include providing local and national election coverage, enhancing our design and building on the standards established by previous Accent teams. The reason I am confident we can achieve these high expectations is because I know that this year’s team is capable of meeting and exceeding these goals.
Having grown to trust many returning staff members, I am also excited to be joined by several new faces who have brought their talents to the newspaper. I look forward to working alongside them and appreciate their commitment to devoting their time to the student paper.
The work we will do all year is dedicated to our audience. The Accent remains committed to serving as “the student voice,” and so it is our duty to represent and serve Southern’s student body to the best of our abilities. That means covering stories that matter to them and providing a platform where students can share their perspectives.
Alongside Southern students, the Accent also serves the community of Collegedale. Therefore, we continue to partner with the University of Vermont’s Center for Community News (CCN), an organization created to decrease local news deserts by supporting student journalists. We will once again be providing expanded coverage of Collegedale news with an extra two-page insert in several of our issues.
Heading into a pivotal election year, the Accent also has the difficult responsibility of covering both local and national elections. We will work to provide stories that are fair, balanced and informative, as well as tailored to Southern students and the Collegedale community.
A newspaper is nothing without the trust of its audience, so my ultimate goal is to do everything in my power to lead a team that builds upon and earns the trust of our readers. I hope to look back at the end of the school year and cross that goal off my list.
