OK, OK. The wait is over. Fresh!, is off the press for its first publication this year. Readers might wonder what Fresh!, is and why the name change.

As Editor in Chief this year, I have decided with my advisors, and other staff the time for change has come.

Minority Today, was created to give minorities on campus a voice and to be used to express and depict the issues that go on and off campus.

I believe that was a wonderful idea. However, a word like “minority” can either hurt or help in terms of a publication.

When I asked students on campus if they read Minority Today many of their answers were no, because most felt the publication did not pertain to them. Some of them said they did not read it because they thought it was only for people of color.

Minority does not just mean a person of color, but a minority can be gender, religion, culture and so forth.

However, many people do not view the word and meaning the same way.

The word minority for this publication creates a stigma and idea that this publication is exclusive to certain people. This is certainly not the case for this publication and that is not what Fresh! stands for.

Fresh! is a student-run newspaper designed to give a voice to the voiceless. Fresh!, is a new way of bringing voices from the margins to the center of discussion about everyday social and culture stories.

Fresh!, will also give perspectives that are fresh, new and sometimes overlooked. The staff works to create an informative feature newspaper that focuses on issues important to our community, on and off campus.

This means we will be discussing issues that are not necessarily related to the general consensus definition of “minority,” but, instead, we aim to provide the campus with stories that create a more open-minded atmosphere, while also focusing on the issues and voices that go unheard.

Through Fresh!, I hope to influence, inform and educate the campus about issues that may be unfamiliar and familiar to many. This school year, I want to not only bring forth a fresh publication but also increase readership and expand the support from the community.

Rashida Lyles-Cowan can be reached at 581-7942 or at [email protected].