Modeling a college paper after its students, community

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At the end of my freshman year, I interviewed for a columnist position with The DePauw. I only planned on writing sporadically. But by the time I left that interview, I had been made editor of the features section.

Two years later, I sit in the editor-in-chief's office surprised now more then ever at how the last three years have passed.

But that's how DePauw works.

We dive into opportunities headfirst and hold our breaths as long as it takes to get back to the surface. This innate hunger for experiences, uncommon and common, plunges us far past our freshman expectations into a relative unknown.

For me, this paper in many ways represents that same blind submersion.

We obsess over our work, and sometimes dig deeper than is necessary. We have poured salt in open wounds, taken ourselves too seriously and made mistakes.

These things are not intentional, but they are also better than the alternative of not doing enough.

Like many newspapers, The DePauw aims to maintain an open and honest discourse within its community of readers.

Our goal is to challenge the institutions to which many of us belong.

We share the same passion and pride for this school as any member of the university community. But there is always room for improvement. So we will continue pushing. We will also continue to make mistakes.

But that's the secret ingredient to DePauw's success: drive.

Despite having an already gorgeous campus, university administrators constantly reassess what can be done to make it prettier.

Greek life at DePauw has been around for over a century and a half, but our many fraternities and sororities continue to redevelop their ways of business.

And while it may not be the university's proudest moniker, an oft-recognized "party school" also consistently makes the ranks of best education.

At The DePauw, we strive to cover the news with the same fervor with which we devour academics, extracurricular activities and a vibrant social life.

We take pride in our work and hope to bring you the best campus coverage we can every Tuesday and Friday.

When this semester comes to a close, I hope I can say we've met our goals.

Still, I know for sure that come graduation I'll be able to come up for air and look back at the last four years of my DePauw experience with satisfaction.

Among other things, I have The DePauw to thank for that.

—Matthew Cecil is a senior political science major from Elmhurst, Ill. He is the editor-in-chief of The DePauwmailto:editor@thedepauw.com