The Virginia Informer

Letter from the Editor…

   Why can’t we all just get along?

By Amanda J. Yasenchak, Editor-in-Chief

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            In the month since our first issue came out, The Virginia Informer has waged a daily battle: a battle for recognition, a battle for readers, a battle for the right to use the wire newspaper racks.

            Like any new paper, it’s difficult to compete with the establishment. We expect that not everyone will know who we are, and we are prepared for all of the usual misconceptions. Print an article about the NCAA’s investigation of American Indian related mascots and team nicknames and you’ll be labeled a right-wing paper. Nevermind the Tribe Tonight debauchery filled testimony or the politically neutral review of Steeps Tea Tavern & Elixir Bar; we mentioned a “conservative” issue thus we must be right wing nut jobs!   Some people have connected my political views to the paper; my Facebook profile reveals me to be a conservative. According to the Facebook profiles of the Editor-in-Chiefs of The Flat Hat and The Dog Street Journal, both are confessed liberals. Using this logic, The Flat Hat and The Dog Street Journal must be liberal papers, since their editors are.

            Perhaps we were not specific in our first issue, but its time to remedy this. The Virginia Informer is a non-partisan newspaper. We are the common sense paper of record on campus. Our “agenda” is to report on the news that goes unreported in other news sources. This also answers the “Why do we exist?” question: we will fill in the holes that the other papers miss. These may be conservative issues, these may be liberal issues, these may be nonpolitical issues, but ultimately they will be issues that students care about.

            The Virginia Informer remains committed to its goals; that is, if we can get copies of our paper to the readers, which is where the battle for the right to use the wire newspaper racks comes in. I encourage all of you to examine those wire racks in your dorms and academic buildings and search for some sort of label which attributes said wire rack to The Flat Hat. Due to some great misunderstanding, The Flat Hat thought that they had purchased these wire racks all on their own, and thus staked claim to the coveted top shelf position. They were more than willing to share the bottom rack with lesser papers like The Dog Street Journal, William & Mary News, and even little ol’ Virginia Informer. After placing copies of our last paper on the top rack, only to find out that they were secretly owned by The Flat Hat I was embarrassed. Then I was confused and started searching for that label that said “Property of the College’s Oldest and Most Established Newspaper.” Finding none I contacted Mark Constantine, Student Activities guru, who advised that to his knowledge the racks were owned by the College, but that we should all just get along and respect each other, with the current issues on the top. Since The Flat Hat publishes most frequently, it is likely that they will consistently claim this coveted top position.

            The point is, if The Virginia Informer is relegated to the bottom shelf; don’t let this stop you from picking up a copy. It’s worth bending down for.

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