Where were you in 1950? What were you reading? Harry S. Truman was the thirty-third president. Gas was 30 cents per gallon. A loaf of bread cost 10 cents and on November 17, 1950, The Spectrum, UB’s only independent student newspaper was born. Our first editor in chief was Jack Keller.
I’m Hannah Stein, the sixty-fifth editor in chief of The Spectrum. I am honored to fill this important and historic position during such a volatile time in our country and our campus’s history. Students at universities across the country are at the center of debates about campus free speech, historical naming rights on campus, how sexual assaults on campus are handled, how to handle immigration and transgender rights. Our country is angry, afraid, politically divided and worried about what comes next.
Many people have lost trust in the media; they believe all news is fake news and that journalists always assert opinion over facts.
I don’t agree.
In fact, I can’t think of a more important time to be studying and practicing journalism.
I feel lucky to be leading The Spectrum at such a newsworthy moment. I also feel lucky that we UB students have a vibrant and independent student press where we can report stories about the campus and where we can, in appropriately labeled columns, express our opinions and voice our concerns.
My staff and I can’t wait to get started and to connect with you, our readers. We want to be your voice on campus and write about the issues you care about.
Please connect with us. Please follow us on social media and send us your ideas and feedback. We will print our newspaper twice a week -- on Mondays and Thursdays -- so look for The Spectrum around campus. You can also find regular updates online and on social media and watch our weekly Spectrum 360 videos.
We have a 67-year history behind us. That’s a lot of weight. It’s also a big responsibility. But my staff and I are ready.
In future decades, when a young, ambitious incoming editor-in-chief looks at what we spent the 2017-2018 year covering, we want her to be blown away.
Hannah Stein is the editor in chief and can be reached at eic@ubspectrum.com
