Welcome to your best source of campus news, sports and entertainment.

That's right, I said "best."

Across the University of Arizona, there are experts in the humanities, sciences, business and law. Our campus athletic teams regularly rise to the top on the soccer field, baseball and softball diamonds and, of course, the hardwood.

Here at the Wildcat, we're experts in providing to you all the relevant and fun information you need to know every day. That's our game, and we excel at it.

Today marks the 106th year of a student newspaper published on campus. We've been around nearly as long as the UA, and in that time we've learned how to serve you best.

Aaron Mackey Editor in Chief

The 44 pages in your hand right now were produced by the hard work and dedication of more than 100 students. Selling ads, taking photos, writing stories and delivering the paper - students do all of it.

And while our paychecks may have a state seal on them, we really work for you.

Associated with the university in name only, the Wildcat is an independent student paper, meaning students call the shots free of any administrative strings and decide how best to deliver you the news. Of the ever-increasing funds you kick toward the UA in tuition and fees, not one cent goes to the Wildcat.

That's why you can count on the Wildcat to give you the straight and narrow on what's happening on campus. Our goal is to let you know what's going on and to stay relevant to your changing needs.

Reporters and editors have made it their top priority to find out what's happening on campus, and to react to it quickly. We also want to be your best guide on where to go and what to do during the weekend.

How much you're going to pay for classes, whether there should be a mandatory meal plan and how well the football team will play this fall - all of these issues are important to you. Because they're important to you, they're important to the Wildcat.

While some readers may believe otherwise, the Wildcat is at the head of the class when it comes to college papers. Last year, the Wildcat tied for second place in the best all-around daily in a regional competition that pitted us against college papers from UCLA, Stanford and other schools throughout the West.

Staff members returning to the Wildcat have won regional and national awards for their stories and photographs. Simply put, we're qualified for this job and we're anxious to prove it to you.

Whether you picked the Wildcat off the racks today because you saw that Jason Mraz was coming to campus next month (page 3) or because you had to see what student shenanigans were published in Police Beat (page 7 today), students working at the paper have built a product you can trust.

Besides campus news you won't find anywhere else, also returning are permanent fixtures such as FastFacts, comics and national and world news. Once again Wildcat columnists will try to raise the level of debate on campus issues that directly affect you. Those same opinions pages will provide a regular forum for commentary from all of you in the form of reader letters.

New additions to the Wildcat include a listing of students, faculty and staff making waves on our campus and abroad, which can be found once per week on page 2. We've added a quick listing on our front page so that you can get important information you need before you've ever stepped into class.

So as you peruse the Wildcat today - hopefully not during class - you'll find stories that are relevant to your life and to our UA community.

We've put our best work into this issue and will continue to do so every day because you're worth our best effort.

Aaron Mackey is a senior majoring in journalism and English. He can be reached at editor@wildcat.arizona.edu.