It is common for a few members of the staff to be in the office after our 5:30 p.m. deadline on Monday evenings. Some editors are still making the finishing touches on their sections or completing their last articles.
Yesterday was a special Monday, and not just because it was our final day in the office before the end of the semester.
Because the runoff for DCGA president was pushed to Monday and because the polls closed at 8:00 p.m., we were forced to endure the wrath of our printer and send them our content a couple hours late.
We didn’t mind spending just a few more precious hours in our office. We love each other and we love fulfilling our role on campus: sharing insight, updates and noteworthy news.
What we do not love is the opinions of people who don’t necessarily understand the work we put into publishing a paper each week happen. Each week, it is our job to strive to produce quality coverage about the goings on at Denison.
We are also open in allowing a multitude of voices contribute to the work we publish. Editors’ contact emails for specific sections are frequently provided in the paper, as is The Denisonian email to our main account.
If there is something one does not like about the way a situation or organization operates, they should make it their duty to make change in that area. Something of substance not being represented enough? Contact us, write about it. Student government not operating the way you wish for it to? Show up to their weekly meetings. A significant portion of the vice presidential and presidential debates were dedicated to getting more students involved in communicating their needs and opinions to DCGA. Really what it comes down to is the fact that DCGA, and The Denisonian, for that matter, are easy targets. It is so much easier to complain about something than to change it. However, if students criticize their Denison experience, they owe it to their community to then actively contribute to the push to make change.
Solving the ills of the world cannot be done in a day, and neither can the discrepancies on college campuses. Taking the steps towards solving the issues starts, however, with your voice being heard.