Editorial: New Blue & Gray Press staff to grow with evolving UMW identity
3 min read
Lauren Brumfield | The Blue & Gray Press
By THE BLUE & GRAY PRESS STAFF
This year marked a new change for The Blue & Gray Press. With a complete rebranding, we built off past years of the paper to create a publication that strives ever more to represent the students of the University of Mary Washington. Our goal this year was to use our new paper as a platform to better reflect the University of Mary Washington student body.
Though the goal to improve look and coverage will always remain an ongoing process, the editorial board is proud of the work created this year in focusing the publication on the student body. We are honored to have become an a place for discussion between students, faculty and alumni. We are proud that our coverage reflects the lives of students and UMW’s on-campus life.
The university and student body underwent immense change in past years, culminating in a flurry of voices and conversations. This dialogue is necessary to initiate change on campus, and The Blue & Gray Press supports conversation about student issues and hopes to remain an outlet for community voices.
Issues have come to light on this campus this year that concern the UMW community, but there are many other issues still hidden or ignored. The editorial board encourages further conversation. However, in finding an improved UMW identity and community, it is important not to simply point fingers at what UMW should or should not be. Rather, it is necessary to be open in discussing issues we hope to believe are not a part of UMW, such as racism, sexism, sexuality, religion and multiculturalism, to name a few.
Last night’s events showed a disconnect between the university administration and students. The three weeks Divest UMW spent sitting inside of George Washington Hall showed a student group fighting for what they believed in, but the situation ended with the forceful removal of the group from the building. Here is an example of a muddled and confused conversation, where neither side came together in compromise; rather they showed their positions with stark decisions.
This year has shown a lot of change at this university, but more can always be done for the better. If UMW is to change for the better, it is imperative that everyone be given a voice in open dialogue and all members of this community to fight for a better UMW by getting involved somehow. More importantly, when students strive to come together for change, they are heard by their administration. A conversation must be held on both sides if any change is to be made at this university. Compromise can be just as important as an initial discussion.
We encourage that compromise to take place within our paper, whether it be through letters, op-eds or the dissemination of news. So as we say goodbye to the old editors, we hope for a paper that covers the student body and their voices even more fully and further exemplifies its university community.
Goodbye:
[one_fourth]Alison Thoet | Editor-in-Chief [/one_fourth][one_fourth]Jonathan Polson | Associate Editor[/one_fourth][one_fourth]Mariah Young | Managing Editor[/one_fourth][one_fourth_last]Hope Racine | News Editor[/one_fourth_last]
[one_fourth]Nephthalie Lauture | News Editor[/one_fourth][one_fourth]Amanda Motley | Life Editor[/one_fourth][one_fourth] Ginny Clark | Photography Editor [/one_fourth][one_fourth]Lauren Brumfield | Online Editor[/one_fourth] [one_fourth_last]Cara Sexton | Business Manager[/one_fourth_last]
Hello:
[one_fourth] Chris Markham | Editor-in-Chief [/one_fourth] [one_fourth]Mona Osmer | Managing Editor[/one_fourth] [one_fourth]Emily Hollingsworth | News Editor[/one_fourth][one_fourth_last]Andrew Crider | News Editor[/one_fourth_last]
[one_fourth]Alex Spence | Viewpoints Editor[/one_fourth][one_fourth]Della Hethcox | Life Editor[/one_fourth][one_fourth]Mikey Barnes | Sports Editor[/one_fourth] [one_fourth_last] Alex Sakes | Photography Editor [/one_fourth_last]
[one_fourth]Ethan Tobin | Online Editor[/one_fourth][one_fourth_last]Sarah Grammer | Advertisement Manager[/one_fourth_last]
Head to the ‘Contact the Editors’ page to see the masthead for the 2015-2016 Blue & Gray Press Editorial Board.
The only growth I’ve seen in this past year is this publication’s increasing use as a soapbox by those wishing to manufacture outrage.
“It is imperative that everyone be given a voice…”
To a large number of alumni, this is your legacy: “The editorial board felt that the paper’s name, which alludes to ammunition for an artillery weapon, propagated violence and did not honor our school’s history in a sensitive manner,” the press release provided to Campus Reform states. “The board intends to remain faithful to the history our university stands upon, and we continue to honor this history both in a respectful and meaningful way.”
Your “legacy” is that you’ve completely taken liberties to rebrand something that didn’t need to be rebranded, and you never sought approval from alumni, instead essentially discrediting what decades of your predecessors had built upon. What makes you holier than the thousands of other alumni that went before you? Do you honestly think that what we were doing was “wrong” or “misguided”?
Chew on that when you go applying for jobs after graduating.