The issue: We’ve had a semester full of news, both good and bad. Sometimes, we must bear the weight that comes with being the messenger.

Our stance: All in all, we’re incredibly proud of our university. More progress needs to be made, but WKU has made successful strides in the past few months.  

Parking changes, insurance hacks, membership cancelations, confusing Confucius policies, issues of racism and sexual assault, hazing, road safety and student government issues—was there anything the Herald didn’t cover this semester?

The past four-and-a-half months have made a lasting mark on WKU. In February, the administration introduced a parking proposal that will likely solve many of the issues campus currently faces. Earth Week saw ways to make campus sustainable, as well as promises from new Student Government Association president-elect Jay Todd Richey to further those efforts next year.

The housing snafu during Snowmaggedon provoked an impressively immediate response of re-evaluating and reforming protocol during campus weather emergencies. The campus community survived and things ran relatively smoothly, thanks to the hardworking and wonderful facilities staff—their efforts cannot be forgotten.

An event half the country away prompted President Gary Ransdell to vehemently discourage racism at WKU. Later in the semester, he and other administrators made the decision to suspended the Swim & Dive team for five years as a zero-tolerance act against hazing and sexual harassment. This semester, Ransdell has proven that student safety is a top priority.  It is a comfort to attend a university where student safety factors into so many important decisions. 

As the year closes out, new classes loom in the fall of 2015. With them comes more breaking news, administrative decisions and fresh faces navigating their way across the campus that is to be their home for the next four years.

As student journalists and storytellers, we do our best to report the news and also use our opinion page as a place to present our ideas about the university. We hold people in high positions accountable for their actions, and we hold ourselves to that same standard. Our main goal is to continue reporting and breaking important news that matters to this campus community, and provide a level of transparency that is essential at a public university. We believe this is what our readers need and deserve. 

As always, we are an ear for the campus community. If there’s something you think needs attention, we want to give it light. 

Although WKU has its fair share of problems, we are proud to not only cover this university, but also be students here and continue to learn and grow on the Hill.

Next semester, let’s continue the efforts started in this one. We, as a campus, can work harder to be inclusive, sustainable and politically involved. We can drive slower and treat each other with respect. We can challenge things that aren’t right, like racism and sexual assault. We can do all of these things and be better off for it.