To start off: Thank you. Whether you picked up Pipe Dream because you saw an interesting story on the front page, or you wanted to do a sudoku puzzle on the first day of classes, or you just needed a makeshift umbrella to brace the Binghamton rain, thank you for picking up our newspaper, and welcome to a new year of Pipe Dream.
Pipe Dream strives to tell an accurate story of Binghamton University and the experiences of all those who take part in making our campus as diverse and interesting as it is. Pipe Dream is not our newspaper — it’s yours. We want you to find yourself in Pipe Dream, and if you don’t, we want you to create it. Pipe Dream is not a perfect publication, and we might never attain perfection. But we certainly won’t stop trying — and we need your help.
That pursuit requires Pipe Dream to continuously adapt not only to a changing student body, but to a change in how the student body attains their news. This year, expect more website exclusives, more event and sports coverage to be posted online only and more visual elements accompanying articles across sections. The transition to a larger online presence will not be easy, and college newspapers are adjusting. But just as Pipe Dream — previously named the Colonial News — has been with this campus since 1946, we stay committed to remaining the main and most interesting source of news at BU well into the future.
This journey of change, as well, requires Pipe Dream to acknowledge its faults. As much as we want to tell the stories of the 17,000 voices on our campus, we must take into consideration that due to our shortcomings, not everyone feels comfortable coming to us. Because of this, stories that deserve to be heard might go untold, which puts our entire campus at a disadvantage. However, just because our newspaper isn’t the place for these stories doesn’t mean they should remain untold; this year, Pipe Dream is teaming up with the Student Association vice president for multicultural affairs to bring back Prism, a multicultural magazine where contributors will have the freedom to write and tell the stories that are important to their communities.
In times like these, more than ever, the press has the responsibility to tell the truth — to hold those in power accountable for their actions, as well as seek out the voices of those who feel unheard and tell their stories.
Pipe Dream is continuously trying to be a better newspaper, and we won’t stop striving toward becoming the best possible representation of the countless important stories those on our campus have to tell.
I’m excited for the changes this year has to bring, and I look forward to hearing your stories.
Gabriella Weick is a senior double-majoring in political science and philosophy, politics and law.