Jessie

It can feel difficult to get people excited about the news. Some might characterize it as the most dependable and boring section, lacking the punchiness of sports or the creative side of arts and culture. However, without sounding too partisan, I’d argue that news holds magnitudes. 

Hidden within dense reports and the day-to-day happenings on campus lie important stories — the good, the bad, and the ugly. Good reporters find those stories within the everyday, adding needed context and bringing unheard voices to the fore. That’s what I hope we will accomplish with the section this year.

One reason I ran for News Editor is because I want to continue our prioritization of equity work within the News section. This year’s equity board plans to contact groups on campus that represent marginalized students. For groups that are comfortable doing so, we hope to sit in on meetings with them so we can hear what they want to see from us, how we can most accurately represent them, and how we can work with them to bring their stories to a broader audience when and if they want to. 

We recognize that the News section can feel inaccessible for some folks, so we’re working to improve readability and community involvement. The News team has decided to collaborate with the Design section to create snapshots of governance articles we’ll feature on the inside cover of the paper. We hope that these quick highlights will make news more readable and get people interested in the world of governance. I also hope to host one meeting each semester where we encourage anyone to pitch their stories to the section and understand a bit more about what we look for when writing stories, so keep an eye out for that event!

I also want to support writers and help bring them into the tight-knit world that is The Varsity. I’m hoping to check in with new writers after they finish their first article to discuss their writing, the edits we’ve made, and how the paper functions. I hope that this helps them learn from the edits we make and gives them someone to reach out to and rely on. 

I’m incredibly hyped to spend the school year with this volume’s News team. Selia and Maeve, you’ve grown so much as reporters and editors, even in just the past few months. Thank you for being so willing to take on big stories, adapt, and think critically. You are both fantastic reporters, and this section is so much better for it.

Maeve

The Varsity’s News section can only be as great as the people who write for it and talk with it, so this year I’m excited to hear more from the general student body. From covering your events and the activism you take on to working with you on investigations, the more voices our section includes, the stronger it will be.

Here at U of T, we sure love to complain and warn others about the hardships at our school. This can range from being grumpy about shuffling through the never-ending construction during U of T time to serious topics like harassment and bullying. My hope for our section is that all students — including you — will feel comfortable reaching out to or working with us to give U of T issues the attention they deserve.

I’m so excited to work with Jessie and Selia this year. We will monitor every tip sent to [email protected] — or, better yet, we hope to hear from new writers so you can explore these topics yourselves.

Selia 

For this volume, I’m hoping we can cultivate a News section representative of the entire U of T community. As Jessie mentioned, we plan to work closely with equity-seeking groups, building connections to provide coverage on issues that would otherwise not be discussed. 

As deputy news editor, I’m also excited to support Jessie’s goal of making writing for The Varsity as accessible as possible. I’m looking to host a writing workshop open to all students each semester that focuses on the basics of writing an article, conducting interviews, and elements of ethical reporting, such as fact-checking processes or how to approach a sensitive topic. I hope to see you there. 

Finally, I look forward to working closely with Jessie and Maeve, both talented journalists who have exciting ideas for this year’s News section.