EDITORIAL: Telling your story is our mission
We are Central Michigan Life, the editorially-independent student media company of Central Michigan University. In your hands is the first online edition of CM Life for the 2016-17 academic year.
Whether you’re reading us for the first time -- or your 50th time -- we’d like to take this opportunity to introduce ourselves.
We are student media. We serve CMU students, first and foremost. We believe every CMU student has the ability to make the future brighter, bolder and better.
Through education, experience, and most importantly information, we believe CMU students can empower themselves.
That’s why you chose to attend this university in the first place. It’s why you decided to come here and to join our community.
Freshman class of 2020: welcome to an experience you will never forget. For those of you returning, welcome back. There’s still new activities and parts of this campus to explore.
As fellow students, we share your relentless optimism. We also share your uncertainty. The challenges we must confront as young people are vast. They are complicated, but not unconquerable.
As the staff of Central Michigan Life, we hope to help you learn about and understand those challenges. And when you succeed against all odds, we want to tell your story.
What topics are we interested in covering? How the university spends your money. The cool things you can get involved in while you’re here. Stories about remarkable students.
Protests, awards, triumphs and failures are all part of the experience we share with you at Central Michigan Life.
We work for you. We are student media. We are your voice, your advocate.
We publish a print edition on Monday and Thursday. In addition, we publish news and sports content, videos and podcasts 24 hours a day online. We also use social media like Twitter, Facebook and Snapchat to reach you on the go.
It is our mission to make sure you know what’s happening on campus, but also in our community and around the world. Our coverage area expands off campus to Mount Pleasant and Mid-Michigan. Our reporters routinely write about the city government, the Isabella County Trial Court and local law enforcement.
We have an editorial responsibility to follow the ethical guidelines prescribed by the Society of Professional Journalists: to seek the truth and report it; to minimize harm by balancing the public’s need for information against potential harm to our sources.
We have a responsibility to act independently by avoiding conflicts of interest, to be transparent and accountable.
Our goal is to present a clear picture of life at CMU from many perspectives, not just the obvious ones.
In a historic election year, that mission is now more important than ever.
We share your curiosity. We view ourselves as partners on your journey as a student. And we will document that experience with the greatest care and to the highest quality.
To new students: whatever path you’re on, and whichever career path you pursue, make sure to explore yourself and your surroundings. Try to have some fun while you’re here -- that last part is the most important. We will keep you informed about important, interesting campus events.
For those students who are returning: keep being dynamic. Keep giving us the opportunity to tell your amazing stories. Whether you’re a single mother raising a child between classes and a job, or a student athlete who makes game-winning plays.
Stay curious. Stay engaged. University life moves faster than you think. Let us be a snapshot -- or a Snapchat -- of your life unfiltered.
We are student media. Serving students first. We are Central Michigan Life. We look forward to telling your story.
