As I read The Daily Evergreen’s reader survey results this past fall, patterns quickly emerged. Mixed in were less-than-constructive suggestions, including one from a respondent who asked for less Cody (whoever you are, you have my sincerest apologies).

But overall, the responses showed that you, the members of the WSU community, want a fuller image of yourselves – your glories and triumphs, your wants and needs – in the stories we tell.

To that end, this semester will bring some changes to the Evergreen, all aimed at fulfilling our duty to give students the information they want and need.

Adjustments in our newsroom’s structure will put our staff in a better position to diligently pursue the most important issues facing students. In the coming weeks, we will launch projects aimed at deciphering some of the greatest complexities of our university, such as the student conduct process and the WSU budget, in a way that is meaningful and informative.

Our staff is dedicated to providing these stories with accuracy and integrity. But in that undertaking, you are the greatest allies we have.

Your lives, collectively, intersect the community in ways that our lives alone may not. You have the knowledge we need to help us serve you. Tell us what you know – your friends’ successes, your department’s shortcomings, the idiosyncrasies of life in a place that is unique and vital.

Newspapers often seem removed from the communities they report on, and this is unfortunate. We are students; we attend the same classes as you, root for the same teams and hang out in the same restaurants and bars.

I want to remove this divide and emphasize our role as the student voice. You are essential to our work and, so far as we succeed, we are essential to your lives.

The Evergreen aims to be approachable. We are a staff of your peers, and we are eager to hear from you regarding work we have done, work we should do, and perhaps even work you want to do with us.

I invite you to stop by the newsroom at Murrow East Room 122, where my office is located, or to contact us on Facebook or at any of the editors’ numbers. These are listed on Page 2 and at dailyevergreen.com.

We welcome your involvement in our operations. We will strive to make that involvement convenient.

Our staff will respond in a timely manner to all calls and emails, and at times throughout the semester, we will seek your insight into specific subjects through an anonymous news tip submission system, which we will post on Facebook and on our website.

I will eat lunch in The Bookie from 11 a.m. to noon every Wednesday. I enjoy company. Stop by and offer your story ideas, your questions and feedback. This is the only way we can cover WSU and Pullman as truly and thoroughly as they deserve.

We want you to be heard, and we want to hear you. We exist for you. Help us make you proud of your local newspaper.

Cody Cottier is a junior communication and philosophy double major from Chimacum. He can be contacted at 335-3194 or by

[email protected]. The opinions expressed in this column are not necessarily those of the staff of The Daily Evergreen or those of The Office of Student Media.