Ricardo Castillo will be The Spectrum’s editor-in-chief for the 2024-25 academic year.
Castillo, a junior law and criminology major, was elected by a vote of The Spectrum’s editorial board Thursday afternoon.
He is currently The Spectrum’s senior sports editor.
Castillo joined the paper as a staff writer on the sports desk in the spring 2023 semester, during his sophomore year. Since then, he has quickly risen through the ranks. In his second semester at the paper, he was promoted to assistant sports editor. After running the sports desk largely by himself that semester, he was elevated to senior sports editor.
“It really happened fast,” Castillo said. “This is something that has made me feel like I belonged; something where I feel appreciated. I knew that I had to do it, and The Spectrum needed me, so I was there for it.”
Matt Parrino, The Spectrum’s faculty advisor and a former editor-in-chief, described Castillo as approachable and professional. He said Castillo has taken to his leadership roles quickly and helped foster leadership in others.
He recalled seeing Castillo take a younger editor “under his wing” at the beginning of the semester, and credited Castillo with instilling confidence in his staff.
“Ricardo has a way about him — a gentle nature, but also a very informative way of helping other editors,” Parrino said. “He's approachable, he's professional, he's a great listener — which I think that you need to be in a leadership role.”
As the new editor-in-chief, Castillo hopes to increase the visibility of the paper while expanding the physical presence of the student newspaper on campus.
“One thing I want to do is make The Spectrum mainstream,” Castillo said. “Increase our physical presence on campus, increase our social media presence — just elevate our presence, get more eyes on our hard work.”
Castillo also wants to increase the exposure of the newspaper on social media, including by restoring a presence on platforms such as TikTok and Facebook.
Grant Ashley, The Spectrum’s current editor-in-chief, says Castillo’s initiative and availability make him right for the job.
“I feel comfortable with him taking over as editor in chief, because I know every other time he’s gotten more responsibility, he’s taken it in stride and done a great job,” Ashley said.
Ashley also called Castillo a “great leader,” saying his experience as a community builder makes him well-prepared for the job.
Ryan Tantalo, The Spectrum’s managing editor, praised Castillo’s character.
“The paper is in good hands with him,” Tantalo said. “I’ve known Ricardo for about a year, ever since he came on as a sports staff writer. I was his senior editor, and I saw right away that he has a great work ethic and ability to learn.”
Castillo says he is thankful for everyone who has helped him during his time at The Spectrum, and he wants to apply everything he’s learned while implementing his own ideas.
“They [Ashley and Tantalo] taught me how to be a teacher, and they were helpful with literally everything,” Castillo said. “We want everyone to read our hard work, and that’s what I plan to do.”
Henry Daley is an assistant sports editor and can be reached at henry.daley@ubspectrum.com
Sol Hauser is the senior news editor and can be reached at sol.hauser@ubspectrum.com
Henry Daley is an assistant sports editor at The Spectrum. His work has featured on other platforms such as Medium and Last Word on Sports. Outside of the newspaper, he enjoys running and watching sports (when he’s not writing about them).
