What you can expect from your student media organization? We are here to inform the students and faculty on and around campus. We want to be your source for news and enable you to stay informed about what is going on around campus. This year, our goal is to have fresh content on our website and social media sites daily.

We aren’t simply putting newspapers on newsstands every Thursday – your stories and events don’t stop there, so why should we?

We are here to listen to your to your ideas and thoughts. We have meetings in The Shield office on the lower level of UC East everyone Monday at noon, and they are open to the public. If you can’t make those meetings, you can write a letter to the editor, or you can e-mail us at [email protected].

People will tell you we suck, our grammar is horrible, and we do lousy reporting. However, we are the same as any other newspaper in the world. I dare you to look at any newspaper and not find a few errors.

This newspaper is a tool for all students who want to gain experience before working for bigger newspapers and media organizations such as The Indianapolis Star, the Courier and Press and maybe even The New York Tiimes. So, yes, we make larger mistakes than the pros, and more often, but we learn from our mistakes.

At some point this year, you will hate us for the stories we write or the stories we don’t write. We are not biased towards any group or particular people on campus. If we feel that students should be informed on a topic, it is our duty to provide that information to the public.

We are the voice of this campus. We are not a newsletter. We will not write “fluff” pieces or spin the news just to please you. We write facts, and we present them to you in the best way possible.

In addition to our mission statement, this staff of veteran students has one piece of wisdom to share to new students about college:

Get involved. It doesn’t matter what organization it is – find something you love and be a part of it. USI has a lot of great clubs and groups. If you can’t find something you like, find other people who share your interest, and start a club.

No one wants to look back on college and wish they had done more.