We here, at The Polytechnic, however, are also faced with electing a new Editorial Board, who will carry on the paper as the seniors step down and face graduation. In their absence, other members are asked to move up in the ranks and keep the paper running smoothly. This past Sunday marked the semi-annual elections in which all positions were available, including that of Editor in Chief.

I would personally like to take this opportunity to introduce myself as the new Editor in Chief of The Poly, and express how excited I am to be working with the new board, as we move toward some changes for the better. I wish to continue the tradition of turning to you, the readers, to ask for feedback on how the paper has been doing over the past semester, and what changes you would like to see implemented. We have stressed many times the importance of student input in our student-run-and-operated paper; we really are here to listen to your feedback—regardless if it’s criticism or praise.

With that said, there are some areas of improvement that I would like to focus on, and I think progress can be made if more people are willing to help. Particularly this semester, we were at a low point for writers in the Features and Sports sections, and in general we are looking for more people interested in layout or copy reading. If you don’t have the time to be a physical presence in the office, please feel free to e-mail me at poly@rpi.edu with possible story ideas, photo opportunities, or if you feel there is some topic or group receiving too much or not enough coverage. If the feedback is specific to a section, please contact the editor in charge, which is listed in the staff box in the bottom left corner of this page.

For those of you who would like to join our staff but aren’t sure where you would like to work, we are always looking for writers and photographers. The News, Features, and Sports sections send out weekly leads of important events, and all three sections, as well as the Editorial/Opinion section are in need of regular columnists. More photographers are always welcome to shoot pictures at sporting and entertainment events, and the occasional news lead. In general, copy readers—those responsible for finding mistakes and improving the quality of the paper—are never present in abundance, and neither are people looking to work on graphics or layout.

We are always looking for your opinions on topics in The Poly or across campus, which you could submit in a letter to the editor. The article should be submitted to edop@poly.rpi.edu, and the policy for submission is also listed in the staff box below.

So if you are interested in joining or have any questions, please feel free to stop by our office, Union Room 3418, on a Tuesday when we are working on the paper. Also, you could e-mail anyone on staff who will be more than willing to work with you or hear what you have to say.