Brett Fera Editor in Chief

Another semester of learning, another semester of reading the Arizona Daily Wildcat.

The fold you're eyes are glued to right now - not to mention each of the other 31 pages in your hand - is for readers just like you.

And whether you turned here by choice, stopped for a peek en route to the Police Beat (page 11 today) or the crossword (page 29) or are one of those "back-row" scholars intent on reading the Wildcat in class despite your professors' vehement requests - OK, demands - not to, I speak these words directly to you as well.

Seeing the Wildcat spilling out of news racks each morning and finding that leftover copy under your seat in class at the beginning of each new semester has surely become as routine as complaining about the rising cost of textbooks or ordering that personal favorite from On Deck Deli after spending winter break staving off withdrawal.

On paper, our routine will stay the same as well. You'll see the same logo on the front page, with Page 2 giving you all that wild and wacky information you crave but never knew how to find.

All your old favorites are back this semester as well - News, Opinions, Sports, Arts and Comics, and of course Police Beat and the crossword as well - while the Wildcat is re-introducing our Nation and World sections, after a short hiatus.

Behind the scenes, though, the Wildcat's role on campus is as important - and newly defined - as ever.

With over a century of production under our belt, the Wildcat is at a crossroads when it comes to looking toward the future of our coverage on campus.

Staff regeneration efforts are already in full swing, with editors and management seeking both the intelligent and the informed to fill our pages with pertinent news and commentary that will continue to inform and provoke discussion on our great campus. The Wildcat is intent on continuing its reputation among the nation's elite college newspapers beyond your final semester in Tucson.

The prototypical Wildcat staffer is not only someone who yearns to find the news, but someone who finds it absolutely imperative to find the truth within the news.

You never know, though. That could be you.

By simply reading this far, you the reader have held up your end of the bargain in the partnership the Wildcat has with every member of the UA community, and now it's time we do our part as well.

Campus outreach efforts will get underway shortly, not only to help our faithful and new readership understand what we cover and why we cover it - we're not here to perform solely as whistleblowers, and we're not printed to act as a public relations vehicle, believe it or not - but rather so that we can learn firsthand what is of both concern and interest to those who entrust us to continue our role as the UA's No. 1 source of news.

So if you're still in class, and your professor hasn't ripped this very paper out of your hands yet, appease the powers that be and put it down.

But don't forget to pick it up again and continue reading once class is out. We're not through with you yet.

Brett Fera is a journalism and communication senior. He can be reached at editor@wildcat.arizona.edu.