Before I even accepted the title as Editor-in-Chief of this newspaper, several people on campus approached me and asked if I would keep the same format.

Naturally, I asked what they meant and they said, “Well, are you going to still have hard news on page one and all the good stories on the inside.” Keep in mind that I am paraphrasing what several people said.

Of course, I said yes because contrary to what most people say, we are a legitimate news service for this campus and its community, and without a doubt we will continue to run “hard news” when “hard news” is present.

Maybe I give off this persona that I’m carefree, relaxed and “cool,” which I am, but that doesn’t mean I’m going to throw everything I learned about journalism values and ethics out the door for the sake of people liking me.

I have a job on campus, and that’s to make sure my peers know exactly what’s going on, when it’s going on and why they should care that it’s going on.

There is no other publication in this town (print publication) that knows more about this campus and will go out of its way to cover this campus (within our limits, but even then we still make sure an event is covered) than The Daily Eastern News. Why? Because we’ve been doing it for the past 103 years.

At some point, we all agreed that we care about this campus.

Furthermore, I also make sure that voices are heard, opinions are shared and everyone has an opportunity to write their heart out and share what’s on their minds to the campus and Charleston community.

I am not here for anyone to like me, though I do have a knock-out personality if you don’t know me. But I’m also not here to make enemies because there’s no need to do that.

The bottom line is, I’m here to run a paper, and I love feedback and criticism. I thrive on learning how I, we, can better our paper.

Yes, we are students and we are learning, but we also practice the same set of skills that journalists use in the “real world.” Yes, that means setting up interviews, attending meetings, not emailing questions, the list goes on, right?

However, we make mistakes, and we want to know if and when we do so we can fix them.

Communication is vital, let’s not lose sight of that.

I’m Analicia Carmen Haynes, Editor-in-Chief of The Daily Eastern News, and I’m here to assure everyone that we will continue to provide honest and fair reporting, coverage and to say that we are proud of doing it.

Here’s to another 100 years, folks.

Analicia Haynes can be reached at 581-2812 or [email protected].