EDITORIAL: OUR READERS

Without you, we'd be pointless.

You're looking at something remarkable here: a student newspaper, housed in a university-owned building yet entirely independent of the administration. There is no board, no faculty sponsor reviewing this publication. The Thresher was created by students, and it is operated on the basis of the Student Association constitution. Yet even the Student Association Senate can't exercise any control.

The Thresher is responsible to only one group: you, the students. You elect our editors in chief, you help finance our operation with your blanket tax money.

And we're here for you. We're here to inform you and to entertain you, to keep you in touch with the community and to further debate. We are here to keep both administrators and student leaders alike honest. We're here to provide you with a voice, for individual students, speaking alone, can rarely influence policy. Newsprint is a great amplifier.

There are about 20 of us who actually work in the office to edit this paper, plus a few dozen writers and photographers. We hope you'll get the chance to join us. But even if you don't, you can still play your part. Write us letters, tell us when you see something newsworthy, let us know how well we're doing our job. When you see us around campus, talk to us. Let us know what you think, what you want us to do. We appreciate criticism and praise alike. It helps us do our job.

When you pick up the Thresher today, and every Friday, think of it not as just another publication. This is your paper and if it weren't for you, all our time, all our equipment, all the stories we write and the photos we take would be completely and utterly pointless.

This item appeared in the Opinion section of the August 30, 1996 issue.

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