Written by: Abigail Chaff

Who doesn’t have an opinion about the Buchtelite? I’ve heard things like “It’s so boring” and “I never read the paper.” When I first told people I got the opinion editor position at this paper, I heard comments like “Great, maybe I’ll actually read it,” and “Oh, good, maybe you can make it interesting.”

Everyone seems to have this idea that there is no life, no real campus news in this paper. But is anyone doing anything about it? The great thing about the campus paper — any paper, for that matter — is that students are free to send in letters with their opinions about what is being published. Students are invited and encouraged to write their own articles.

Students run this paper. Students write all the articles. If you want to blame anyone for a bland issue, blame yourselves. The staff works long hours to make this paper enjoyable to read. If you have an idea about something you want to see published, why don’t you send it to us? Why don’t you volunteer to write an article?

The opinion section is a student’s blank canvas. This whole paper is your soapbox. Students’ opinions are not overlooked; they are taken into great consideration. That is, an actual opinion or idea: not a rant about how stupid you think an article or a writer is. I know there are brilliant writers, budding artists, future politicians and talented spokespeople walking this campus every day. Where is your voice? It can be found right here.

Or is everyone too busy with their iPhones and tablets to actually pick up a hard copy of the Buchtelite and support a dying breed? We are the pandas, the Siberian tigers, the gorillas of the print industry. This paper is free. It takes nothing more than a move of your muscles to pick up the Buchtelite and learn something. Within these pages is the information about all that is going on around you, and you have the power to choose what you read.

Not every idea may be deemed appropriate. You have to remember, this is supposed to be a real newspaper. There have to be real news stories.  We can’t fill up our pages with articles about Angry Birds and Keeping Up with the Kardashians.

But that’s not what you want to read about anyway, is it? I believe that there are a lot of you out there who are intellectual and who crave a deep conversations. All hope is not lost. There is a beacon of hope for information-seekers: it’s called the Buchtelite. A campus paper has the potential to start movements, to inspire change. But four editors cannot do it alone. We need those inspired few to become the many. Stand up for what you believe in and speak out.

Since being hired as the opinion editor, I have turned many on to the Buchtelite. The more people I speak to about the paper, the more I hear people talking about the articles.

If you take the time to pick up a copy, you may be surprised to find that you actually like what you read. Everyone I meet I try to convince to write for me. So many people find that they have a great
story to tell. They find that there is something they have to share.

Share your ideas and stories. Motivate others. At the very least, stop complaining. If you think you’re too good to read what is being printed now, send in something you would like to read. Add another line to your resume. Have something to tell your professors to get brownie points. You may not think that the Buchtelite is riveting, but at least these people are motivated enough to get off the couch and do something.