Along with every new school year comes renewed expectations for personal, professional, or academic success. There was just something about this summer break that energized my batteries and refocused me on future goals.
Maybe I was hit from above by a high-energy light burst that gave me a never-ending will to learn.
Or maybe, I was just inspired by Kerri Strug...
Nah.
Either way, I'd like to be the first to welcome you to the first issue of the 1996-1997 Arizona Daily Wildcat. As opinions editor, I offer an enthusiastic handshake to you, the readers, who add significantly to this paper's editorial flavor.
Allow me to introduce the new Wildcat opinions pages. They are the paper's editorial voice, a place where columnists, cartoonists and readers are given the liberty granted by the First Amendment to present their own perspectives.
With goals to provide diverse opinions, a strong editorial voice, and a more dynamic page design, this year's opinions page comes to you with renewed vigor.
Understandably, the opinions page allows considerable journalistic freedoms, and George Bernard Shaw was right when he said that liberty means responsibility. I respect the power that lies behind this paper's voice, and as an editor, I put this responsibi lity on the highest pedestal.
Most importantly, this responsibility entails realizing that these pages do not belong to the Wildcat staff. Instead, they give you the opportunity to have your perspectives published through letters to the editor and guest columns. The opinions pages cat er to this discourse relationship between the paper and its readers, and they provide you with a forum that encourages insightful commentary and debate.
This forum is obviously not possible without your contributions. I realize that writing takes time out of your busy schedule, but the service you provide to the paper and other readers is invaluable. When you share your voice, you serve both the paper and the readers by deepening the collective understanding of an issue.
Admittedly, letter writing may not lead to final solutions to problems or campus-wide agreement on controversial issues, but that is not ultimate goal of this page. Instead, the debate that stirs here is meant to encourage members in the campus community to share their voice to, if nothing more, open people's eyes to another perspective.
A common misconception about the opinions page is that it has a low readership. My response (only slightly defensive) forces a look at the results of a 1995 poll asking Wildcat readers what sections they read regularly. Over 350 students, staff and facul ty responded, and 76 percent said they read the opinions pages regularly. In fact, readers turned to the opinions pages more than they did to the sports and arts sections combined.
So I challenge you to share your perspective about what you see in the Wildcat. If the Wildcat makes an error, tell us. If we do something right, tell us. Although publication of your voice is not guaranteed, I will make every effort to publish as many le tters as space permits.
Remember, the Wildcat has a daily circulation of 20,000 and a readership of 40,000. Your voice will be heard.
Adam Djurdjulov
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