EDITOR’S NOTE: This letter was published in the August 2017 issue of The Clarion.

By Abby Petersen

When I moved into Getsch Residence Hall in 2014 as a Bethel freshman, I stared out of my parents’ car with wide eyes at the sea of people in blue shirts and khaki shorts. I was terrified, shy and uncomfortable. When a Welcome Week staffer tried to talk to me through the car window, I nonchalantly rolled it up to shut him out.

Three years later, as a senior journalism major and the editor-in-chief of the student newspaper, there are still times when I am terrified, shy and uncomfortable. But I try to make a point of not rolling up the windows to things I don’t want to hear. I hope this publication is evidence of that.

The Clarion staff and I want you to know the identity of our publication and what it aims to do. The Clarion seeks to be your source of news on Bethel’s campus and a facilitator of public dialogue.

We aren’t here to market Bethel or trash Bethel. We aren’t here to solve campus problems or pander to campus gossip. We are here to tell you when problems exist and to dispel rumors with truth.

I hope that The Clarion makes you smile, think and wonder. I hope The Clarion challenges your opinions. I hope The Clarion sometimes tells you truths that make you uncomfortable.

The Clarion is an independent news organization. We’re here to serve the truth first and our readers second. For that reason, we want to be as professional, trustworthy and transparent as possible. The Clarion office is in The Loft on the fourth floor of the Brushaber Commons. Our door is almost always open. Stop by. Challenge us. Talk to us.

Seek truth with us.