Letter to the Community

For some of us, it is another year at Portland State as we tread our way toward a degree. But for others, this is the beginning of a spectacular adventure. Whether you are a beginning freshman, returning after a break, transferring from another school, or continuing your education at Portland State, we hope this special issue of the Vanguard will help you find your way with a little more ease.

This back-to-school edition, the Viking Survival Guide, is intended to help orient students to their campus, community and sometimes home. Inside, you will find valuable information about important people on campus, help in navigating your way through the Neuberger Hall lobby, ways to entertain yourself around campus and more. You will be introduced to our editorial and management staff on page four and our writers, both new and returning, through their coverage and commentary.

The Vanguard is a student-run, independent newspaper and the majority of our funding comes from ad sales. We receive student fee funding to cover our printing costs. This funding gives us a deep sense of responsibility to our community which we take very seriously. We are not, however, censored or monitored by the university or administration. We use our best judgment, experience and high ethical standards (in addition to our advisors) to make difficult decisions about content and advertising. We take our jobs extremely seriously and we will continue to weigh heavily issues that are controversial or sensitive in an effort to be fair.

We have a dedicated and excited staff this year, including many editorial staff members who are returning to help make the Vanguard the best college newspaper possible. I, too, am returning for my third year on staff and second year as editor-in-chief. I hope the mix of veteran staffers and new blood will infuse the Vanguard with both continuity and excitement.

In August, we held our annual staff retreat, intended to help us focus on new goals for the year and make changes we feel will benefit our readers. Our first job was to create a mission statement that reflects our goals as a staff. This year our mission states, “The Vanguard strives to thoroughly cover the Portland State University community by producing an informative and engaging daily newspaper.”

Another of our biggest goals this year is to integrate our print and online editions to best suit our readers and to encourage more community feedback. You will notice on our Web site (www.dailyvanguard.com) readers can post responses to any story in the paper. This is a great way to quickly let us know what you are thinking and is very important in our effort to gauge our successes and failures. In addition, you will find more information and links from stories to other sites.

We hope in the coming year we will have the opportunity to cover events, issues, and members of the community that are important and relevant to YOU.

However, we need your help. We encourage letters to the editor, guest opinion pieces, press releases, online feedback and news tips from all members of the community.

To reach any Vanguard line or leave a news tip, please call 503-725-4531 or visit our Web site. Our office is located in the sub-basement of Smith Memorial Center in Room S-26.

Because PSU does not have a journalism department or degree, the Vanguard represents an incredible learning experience for anyone interested in working in the field or just exploring one’s opinions. Our staff this year is eclectic and diverse, and nowhere will you see it reflected more than in the content of the coming year.

As we prepare to step into the next busy year, the Vanguard staff wishes you a fabulous year and thanks you in advance for your feedback and readership.

Sincerely,

Erin Lloyd

Editor-in-Chief