Although I’ve written at The Flor-Ala since my freshman year, I can tell this is going to be my favorite year yet. While one of my best friends served on staff last year, the people I work with now have great attitudes and that, along with dedication, is going to make this year superior.

This year we are trying to focus as much attention as possible to getting you information anywhere, anytime. We have Twitter accounts for breaking news, events and sports. We place our newspapers around the city each Thursday. We have an engaging Facebook and online website (which you can make a shortcut to on your phone). We have a culture blog highlighting unique facets of campus life. And this is just the beginning.

We are introducing a Periscope channel to allow our readers to see events unfold before their eyes in locations they simply cannot be. Our photography staff is working to update Instagram weekly to share sneak peeks for the next week’s issue. Most importantly, we are adding new information to our website daily, including photo galleries, online exclusives, videos, podcasts and more.

So what is your role in all of this?

This is your newspaper. We write about campus activities we think you would want to hear about. If you do not see an event covered or if you hear about something you would like to be investigated, send us an email and we will work to serve you. Better yet, if you are passionate about writing, designing, photography or selling advertisements, come work with us. We accept ideas and have an open-door policy for students who need to build skills.

We are all learning. Each year The Flor-Ala’s staff is filled with students who are genuinely passionate about learning how to perfect their skills, and healthy criticism is always welcome. With a new staff there are new perspectives, new relationships and new stories.

We seek to build bridges burned by past staff members and create new relationships founded on trust, integrity and honesty.

We want our campus to be proud to call us their own. We want to be The Flor-Ala: Your Campus. Your News.