Welcome back to campus, Cougs!

I am very happy to have already met many eager freshman who are pursuing positions with The Daily Evergreen and am hoping to get to know more of you.

For those who do not know me, my name is Gabriella Ramos, and I am a junior strategic communication major from Chicago. I took over as editor-in-chief of The Summer Evergreen in May and am now leading The Daily Evergreen into the fall.

We have some big things planned this semester.

As some of you may have noticed, things are starting to look a little different around here. From digital to print, the Evergreen staff has been working on various projects to improve and modernize the overall presentation of our publication.

This summer, myself and my managing editor, Madison Jackson, have been hard at work putting together a new website and overhauling design in the paper after attending a four-day newspaper conference in Minneapolis with creative manager Aloni Martin.

In terms of changes in content, readers can look forward to our new digital-first philosophy. As stories, videos and photographs roll into our newsroom, they will also become available to readers immediately online through dailyevergreen.com, Facebook and Twitter. So make sure you’re following us on social media for updates as news unfolds on campus.

With a digital-first mentality, we have developed teams of videographers and graphic artists to provide readers with a more dynamic experience online. This means more stories with multimedia packages that feature videos or interactive graphics.

The Daily Evergreen will also continue to live stream press conferences and interviews with prominent figures on campus.

We have also reorganized positions within the newsroom to better serve our audience. The life section will now feature themed days to streamline coverage: Monday is involvement, Wednesday is wellness and Friday is community. Involvement encompasses all student organizations and happenings on-campus, wellness includes health, fitness and general adulting advice, and community prioritizes local businesses and influential individuals in the area.

Mint will serve as an outlet for all things art, music and theater. We also plan to bring back “Street Talk,” a conglomerate of local responses to a pre-determined question. We also strive to include complimentary videos for artist profiles and business features.

Sports will continue to produce special “Sports Weekend” editions for every home football game this fall.

I am working with our marketing team to plan events and panels for our special editions and organize street teams to increase pick-up around campus.

While making these changes has been both challenging and exciting, these are works in progress and will require some minor updates to improve readability as we find our footing this semester. So please bear with us. After all, Evergreen staffers are balancing work and school, just like many of you.

Coming into this position, I have goals based in community outreach. As an on-campus news organization and the voice of the students, I plan to be actively engaging with campus organizations and leaders in order to properly report the issues that students find most pressing. This will include attending press conferences, club meetings and setting up one-on-one discussions with student leaders, as well as university administration.

I look forward to meeting many of you, hearing your stories and giving you a voice on campus. I will be holding coffee with the editor at 10 a.m. every Wednesday this semester at Reunion in the CUB. When I am not in class, I am almost always available in my office in Murrow 122. Please come visit me, and we can chat about things you’d like to see in your paper and how The Daily Evergreen can better represent you.