Letter from the editor: embrace change with The Lariat

By Bailey Brammer | Editor-in-Chief

If this is your first time picking up an issue of the Baylor Lariat, or first time scrolling through our app or website, welcome to your No. 1 source for Baylor news. Whether you are brand new to our publication or are a longtime follower of our work, thank you for readership and support.

This year, the Lariat has made a few considerable changes that may or may not affect the way you receive your news. Baylor’s school newspaper has been around since 1900 and has most recently been printed four days a week. However, as technology and society continue to evolve, journalism has made leaps and bounds in the digital world, the Lariat is no exception to this.

Our staff of around 40 students has the unique opportunity this year to redefine the way we present news to the Baylor community. While we are decreasing our print days to twice a week, this does not mean that we will be producing less content. Instead of classifying our publication as “print first” or “digital first,” I’d like to set the standard that we will do our very best to simply have your Baylor news first.

As someone who has always enjoyed unfolding a freshly printed newspaper and running my fingers over the pages to see if the ink has dried yet, this change was a bit difficult for me to grasp at first. However, as many of us learn when we embark on a new adventure, such as college in an unfamiliar city or taking on a different job or beginning a new friendship or relationship, change can be a good thing.

This semester, as you dive into your classes and extracurriculars, whether for the first time as a wide-eyed freshman or the last time as a seasoned senior, remember that nothing stays the same for very long. Change occurs whether we seek it or not, and we can fight it all we want, but it will happen regardless, so why not embrace it?

And while change will develop of its own accord, do not forget that you can also catalyze change. If you are unhappy with a situation in your own life, or perturbed by the treatment of others, you have the ability to make a difference (it may be cliche, but it’s true). Speak up and share your thoughts with others, and with the Lariat. We are always honored to receive and publish letters from our readers on issues they are passionate about. As playwright and screenwriter Tom Stoppard said, “I still believe that if your aim is to change the world, journalism is a more immediate short-term weapon.”

And as you partake in your own natural and purposeful transitions throughout this semester, we hope you will continue to pick up the Lariat on Tuesdays and Fridays, that you will continue to visit our website at baylorlariat.com, that you will continue to scroll through the Morning Buzz before class, that you will continue to tune in to our Lariat Radio play-by-play and that you will continue to watch LTVN tackle breaking stories on camera.

While we are changing just as much as you are, we still strive to be your source for all things Baylor and appreciate every viewer and reader, even if you just pick up the paper for the crossword. Our staff works day and night to deliver to you the most accurate, timely and interesting news possible, and it is our privilege to continue to do so.

Bailey Brammer is a junior journalism and history major from Phoenix.