On behalf of The Slate staff, I would like to welcome everyone back to campus. When I left the newsroom on March 6, I planned to return to finish out the semester with our remaining five editions.

Unfortunately, the universe had other plans. Our 2019-20 Slate staff, including our nine graduating seniors, were not afforded the opportunity to finish what we started.

Instead, we continued virtually. We published content on theslateonline.com and continued our mission to serve the campus and greater Shippensburg community with vital news and information.

Our calling to serve and inform our community is unwavering — even in the middle of a global pandemic.

We are here to highlight the good in our community. We tell the stories of amazing people doing incredible things on this campus.

But in the same vein, we cannot fulfill our calling to serve and inform by turning a blind eye to the “bad” or “ugly” stories.

We cannot make our communities better by only reporting on the “good.” We live in a flawed society, and Shippensburg like any other place, has its flaws.

The only way to improve upon those flaws or solve the issues that plague our campus, town, country or world is to talk about them.

Journalists show their devotion to their communities by reporting on the good, bad and ugly. We care enough to talk about the bad in efforts to get the conversation started to create a solution that betters the community for everyone.

The Slate encourages the sharing of all stories, experiences and voices.

I encourage campus community members to use the content in our Opinion section as conversation starters. Listen to one another’s experiences and discuss how we can improve our greater community.

Now that we are back together in this community, I encourage students to get involved during their time on campus. This crazy, ridiculous, unprecedented year has shown us a lot of things but for me, it has reinforced the idea of what it means to be a community.

A community is not a place. It is a group of people who work collectively to improve one another and the society in which they live.

So on that note, welcome to our community. Wear your mask, wash your hands, read The Slate and stay safe SU.

Please consider joining a student organization or two and get to know everyone and start building your own community.

Interested in The Slate? Attend our General Interest Meeting on Sept. 1 at 8:30 p.m. in Orndorff Theatre.

Have questions for me or about The Slate? Email slate.ship@gmail.com

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