Ryan ChartrandWelcome to the opinions page. Yep, opinions, as in people’s views. The Mustang Daily serves as the public forum for Cal Poly students and faculty, meaning that when you send us a (coherent) letter to the editor, we run it. When you send us a (coherent) guest commentary, we run that too. We want to get your voice and message out to the general student population if you’ve got something to say.
We also have columnists, like Sarah over there on the left. You’re probably pretty familiar with this year’s columnist lineup by now (and if not, just look to the bar on the right). Again, we try to bring in different views and opinions every week so that you, our readers, can see what’s going on outside your bubble and think twice about your beliefs and decisions.
Now get ready for something extraordinary, folks: they’re columnists. Columnists. They don’t write straight-up news articles for the Mustang Daily; moreover, they don’t receive academic credit and are not paid for their contributions. Instead, they have to come up with a fresh topic every week and write 600 to 800 words about it. It’s a challenging job.
They’re not journalists in this context – they’re ordinary students who have stepped up to contribute their writings every week for your enjoyment and consideration. If you’re looking for objective reports on what’s happening around campus and in the community, that’s what the rest of the paper’s all about. But here, in the section you’re reading right now, it’s all about personal points of view.
Articles don’t exist in the opinions section – just commentaries, editorials (opinions that reflect the editorial staff), columns and letters to the editor. Furthermore, columns, commentaries and letters to the editor do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Mustang Daily editorial staff.
So if you have your own thoughts on a particular topic, by all means, write in. This is why the Mustang Daily exists – to share stories and thoughts. You can send in letters to mustangdailyopinions@gmail.com (see the ad on page 10 for further instructions) or you can send in guest commentaries, which should be around 500 words and cover original topics (see the ad on the upper right).
If you’ve ever thought about writing in but haven’t yet, you should the next time you’re feeling passionate about something. Without the courage to speak up, this page could become pretty darn bland. Keep it spicy.
Editorials reflect the opinion of the Mustang Daily editorial staff.