‘ At the end of this semester, The Daily Free Press will have published continuously as Boston University’s independent student newspaper for 40 years. For the thousands of students who pick up the paper every day, if only to do the crossword puzzle and scan the headlines, it’s part of a daily routine. For the staff running around the newsroom every night, it’s a routine labor of love. So while it might be predictable to think of this anniversary as something remarkable, the reality is that The Free Press’ continued existence is simply what the students should ‘- and do ‘- expect.
While we’re thrilled to be celebrating our 40th birthday, we know it’s nothing less than our responsibility to provide the student body with its own independent voice every day. BU is a big school, run like a small city, with thousands of students reliant on the administration like citizens on government. It’s important, thus, for the administration to be transparent enough that students can be informed and take an active role in their lives here. In working to represent the students, The Free Press also works to enforce university transparency, in good times and bad.
We believe this is an important cause because this is our school, and for most of the year this city is our home. So it falls to us to live here, to know what we have a right to know and to fight for what we believe. In May 1970, students stood up for what they believed in the aftermath of the Kent State shootings, and The Free Press was there to cover it, as well as the university response. Today there are still causes to fight for, and we’re still here to help you fight for them.
This semester we’ll be running periodic features on our anniversary, beginning today on p. 1, to commemorate the past and see how far we’ve come. But just as important is seeing how far we might still go. It’s a tough time to be a newspaper, let alone a student-run one. But we’re confident that we’ll make it through, because we have to. Now, as ever, students must be able to speak up and speak out. We at The Free Press are honored to be your voice.
Here’s to another great semester and 40 years of FreeP, and many more to come.
Annie Ropeik
Editor-in-Chief
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