Welcome, readers, to EMU’s student run newspaper. Welcome to readers on-campus, off-campus, and around the world. Welcome, students, faculty, staff, alumni, and the broader community. Welcome to each one of you, holding your truth in your hands. 

Welcome to readers who don’t see your stories represented here, and to those who do. 

When Zack and I accepted the positions of co-editor, we spoke at length about our dreams for the Weather Vane, and a central theme emerged: to welcome more voices into published print. We want the Weather Vane to be home to more stories, more ideas, more questions from you. These pages (physical and digital) are a testament to the moments we live, breathe, and feel here in this semester. This is an artifact, and an opportunity. 

According to the Online Etymology Dictionary, “welcome” derives from the Old English “wilcuma,” which means, “one whose coming suits another’s will or wish.” Your inclusion here suits the wish of the Weather Vane to support and uphold under-represented voices, identities, and even languages. Along with informing and holding accountable, we understand another facet of our mission to be the acknowledgement and celebration of the many languages spoken and cultures represented on campus and in the broader EMU community. And as we work towards this, we know we need to do it right. Hold us accountable, EMU, in this, and the rest of our responsibilities. 

I (Hannah) have served with the Weather Vane on and off since my first year, earning credit for my writing major. Now, in my senior year, I want to call upon my bilingual skills and cultural learnings, developed here over the course of my Spanish major, to welcome more languages into our pages. I acknowledge my U.S. passport, white skin, education, and life circumstances as privilege, and I hope to hone these into a megaphone. Humbly, I open this space for you.  

I (Zack) have been with the Weather Vane since the spring semester of my first year. I started my time here as a sports writer, and eventually brought back an entire sports page to the paper. I plan to continue having consistent coverage of both women’s and men’s sports in the paper. I hope to use my experience as a photographer to increase the coverage we have on all events around campus as well. I work as a historian in my free time, and have a mulit-faceted understanding of where we all come from. I hope to use that experience to further increase the diversity of stories covered in the paper, whether it be including more languages in our paper, or featuring numerous voices around campus. The Weather Vane is an open space to all, and we welcome all voices from around campus to contribute, and be heard in OUR paper. 

You, just as you are, is what makes the Weather Vane. Journalism does not exist in a vacuum. We are by students, for students, the voice of the students. We will uphold honesty through fact-checking and publications of corrections. We will examine stories from all angles, consider all sides, and take care to include marginalized voices. We will report impartially, professionally, and with sensitivity. We will uplift the different voices and experiences of the Weather Vane team, knowing that diversity strengthens, and invite you to join us. You are wanted here. 

Welcome to the Weather Vane. 
Contact us at wvane@emu.edu or our editors’ respective EMU email addresses.