"Independent to all, subservient to none, ready to commend what is right and rebuke what is wrong, ever anxious to promote the best interests of the student community, we shall begrudge no labor, no effort to make this a faithful journal of the thoughts and actions of the students of Amherst College." So reads the inaugural editorial from The Amherst Student, published 138 years ago this month. Though perhaps not quite so stirring as the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution, these words represent a noble effort spearheaded by the eight students who comprised this newspaper's original editorial board. Nearly a century and a half later, The Student is still the newspaper of the College, and more importantly, today's editorial board still embraces the original mission statement from that first edition.

The Student was not the College's first periodical, but it was innovative for its aim of becoming "a representative newspaper of our institution." Each of the magazines that preceded The Student was primarily literary in content, but this publication was founded with the explicit purpose of discussing "College affairs and College news in general." The concept was a newspaper about students, for students and by students. As the original editorial board realized, their "new and untried path" was made possible only with the "warm and hearty support and cooperation of their fellow students."

Today, The Student's role as the sole student-run news outlet on campus is largely the same as it was at its inception; however, we are no longer alone in reporting the news and affairs of the College community. With the College's Web site providing 24-hour updates of on-campus happenings, we are no longer a source of breaking news. This technological advancement demanded The Student to significantly alter the focus of its articles to a more student-oriented approach. We must not only report the news, but in order to remain relevant we must report the news from the student body's perspective.

We regretfully admit that The Student has still not fully evolved from its pre-Internet manifestation. Worse yet, the authoritative presence of College-authored news has hung over this publication, rendering The Student less independent and unfortunately as a mouthpiece for the administration. Luckily, we still have the opportunity of the independence the founding board held so dear. Although we find fault with the trend set by our most recent predecessors, we are dedicated to reforming this publication to more closely follow its two founding principles: student inclusion and independence.

While we are passionate about improving the College's newspaper, we-like The Student's founding fathers-recognize that advancements are impossible without the assistance of our classmates. In the coming weeks we will be reaching out to you, our readers, to help us improve your paper. We will be forming a focus group and circulating a survey in hopes of returning ownership of The Student back to the students. As the 1868 editorial board said, "We trust that we do not err, in expecting your warm and hearty support and cooperation."