No bull

Bright-eyed freshmen pile into the Stampedes, and the morning wait at Tim Hortons burns through your final half hour before class.

It's back: fall semester at UB.

And with the beginning of classes comes a familiar sight, sitting on Talbert benches and Student Union shelves:

Your Spectrum.

It's been a good summer, but it's even better to be back. Despite long hours, sleepless nights and unhealthy caffeine addictions, this is not a position any of us on the editorial board can really complain about.

For three days a week, you get all of us: our time, our energy, and - as cheesy as it sounds - our love. What we cover and how it gets conveyed is carefully planned, interviews are conducted, and each piece - from game recaps to investigation pieces - is written out and edited line by line.

You might even be wondering what it is you're reading right now and how it came to be. The nameless pieces you come across on page three are the product of collaboration, of late morning meetings consisting of good-natured conversation and occasionally hearty debate. It is not the opinion of one person on the staff but a consensus of the paper as a whole.

The best part of working in news is that it is a constant conversation. It's us talking amongst ourselves and talking to you and having you respond. It's about you wanting to be heard and about us giving you a voice.

We cannot stress it enough when we say that we are an independent newspaper. Everything you see in print or online is written, edited and approved by us and for you. We hope that the university gives us positive news to work with, but we are not in the business of public relations. We work to serve the students inside the university.

And whatever thoughts you might have or assumptions you might have made, we are not some elite club. We don't have paychecks or jackets (yet, at least-fingers crossed); we have portfolios and an office with doors open to anyone who wants to venture through them.

So please feel free to venture through! Our newspaper exists because people are willing to tell stories, and others are willing to write them. In other words, we accept suggestions, columns, letters to the editor and new writers at all times.

We're here to do the news, and we do it because we love it. We hope you will, too.

Email: editorial@ubspectrum.com