As we start a new school year, we are all looking to expand our horizons. We consider which clubs to join, to study or not to study, and how to approach new people and new obstacles. The staff of The Mac Weekly is no exception. As we begin writing and creating our weekly issues, we are also looking for ways to improve. We are proud of how our staff has grown and proud of our position as the campus’s only college newspaper. We want to continue to be the source for student voices to start needed dialogue on campus.

When the campus supports us, we do better. When the campus community feels like they can join us and contribute, we get new writers, interested in expressing their own diverse views. When we get new writers, we receive interesting new ideas that make our weekly issues more vibrant and representative of what our campus, as a whole, actually wants to talk about. When we have the support of the campus, we see our issues sparking new discussions that then translate into new ideas. When people feel like they can bring those discussions back to us, the ball keeps rolling and we keep improving.

And we’d like the campus to help us grow. We rely on campus support for every aspect of our newspaper. When students support our publication, and read us on Friday afternoons in Cafe Mac, we see that. When Macalester staff members recognize our value and agree to meet with us for interviews, we benefit greatly. When faculty members read our writing and comment on a Features article they enjoyed, we love that. When you ‘like’ our Facebook page or follow our Twitter, we treasure that consistent engagement with our content.

No act of appreciation or support for our publication goes unvalued. We are better when the community supports us.

With support comes accountability.

As a paper, sometimes we get it wrong. Not intentionally, but sometimes, things go wrong. We are students. We are learning. Errors happen. We own that and don’t shy away from admitting our mistakes.

We know that it can be easy to critique us. But, at the start of this new school year, we ask that you tell us when we do something wrong, so we can correct it and learn how to do better next time.

Keep in mind that the articles we publish in Opinion do not reflect the views of the newspaper staff as a whole. While we refuse to publish pieces that intentionally or unintentionally promote hate speech, we do publish pretty much anything else. We are not in the business of censoring speech on this campus, whether we agree with the authors’ points of view or not.

We also want to be honest. We are working to become a more diverse staff. This is a real priority for us, so please, if you are interested in learning more about The Mac Weekly, journalism, editing, writing, photography or graphic design, join us for our Informational Meeting in CC 215 at 8 p.m. on Sunday, Sept. 13. As a staff, we can tell you that The Mac Weekly has been one of the most fun and rewarding extracurricular activities we’re a part of. Through late nights and hard work, we are a supportive, familial organization.

We want to start this year on a positive note. Please help us grow this year and become a better paper. We need you, and your readership.

Sincerely,
TMW Fall 2015 Staff