Change at Colgate: Tradition Meets Transition

This year, as editors-in-chief of The Colgate Maroon-News, we hope to enact many new initiatives, which will bring a breath of fresh air to the oldest college weekly in America. In the past, the weekly Editor’s Column has covered a wide range of subjects. Each staff editorial this year will instead focus on the theme of transition, a topic we feel is not only personally relevant as we enter our senior year, but also relevant to the campus as a whole.

Although our upcoming transition into the “real world” is nine months away, we are currently undergoing a different transition – adjusting to our new positions on staff. As we shift into these new roles, we look forward to larger responsibilities, late nights and unforeseen complications. We acknowledge that this transition will not come without its challenges, but our passion for producing a well-respected newspaper will inspire us to work our hardest.

We chose the theme of transition because it also applies to the larger campus climate. Colgate University prides itself on being an elite collegiate institution, which requires it to keep up with national trends. In our three years on campus, we have witnessed Colgate attract a more diverse student body, reduce the presence of Greek Life and strive to become more environmentally-aware. Additionally, Colgate has undergone multiple administrative changes, and downtown Hamilton is constantly reinventing itself.

Colgate is still looking toward the future; there is construction all over campus to renovate athletic facilities and academic buildings. The university is also preparing for the Residential Learning Communities, in accordance with the Living the Liberal Arts initiative. When we return for our five-year reunion, campus will not look like the Colgate we once knew.

While some of Colgate’s recent attempts to improve student life on campus have been met with mixed reviews, others such as the Thought into Action Entrepreneurship Institute and Sophomore Residential Seminars have been well-received. We eagerly await the implementation of upcoming campus initiatives that will aid Colgate as it approaches its bicentennial. Our editorial staff will review these initiatives in this column and we encourage students, faculty and administrators to submit their opinions to the Commentary section.

We hope that our goal of establishing a theme for the Editor’s Column will make the newspaper more cohesive. We are excited to address transitions taking place on campus as well as those on a local and national stage. The Colgate Maroon-News looks forward to continuing its tradition of documenting and reviewing our constantly evolving university.

Contact Julia Queller at [email protected] and Spencer Serling at [email protected].