When opening an issue of The Ionian, a student can expect to find information pertinent to them – a review of the latest Taylor Swift album, the newest Student Spotlight or an interview with the acting president. When turning to the news section, students have come to expect that the events we report on will either be happening at Iona or have a direct effect on the student body, such as the Excelsior Scholarship article, written last semester by yours truly.

As a journalism major interested almost solely in the news, I make it my business to know what is happening in the world, things that would never show up in an issue of The Ionian. I spend a lot of time reading through news updates and articles to stay as up-to-date as I can on what is happening with North Korea, the UN or DACA. I do not have time to keep track of up-to-the minute reporting that happens on these and more issues because of the busy schedule I must keep as a college student. I know that most students have other things they spend their time on other than the news because, frankly, it’s more pressing for them. The UN can wait until after I finish this lab report, this paper or studying for this test. We simply do not have the time to sift through source after source to find the truth and the form a view on what the reality is of the situation.

My friends and family know me as the person who is up-to-date and knowledgeable about what is happening in the world. The answer is simple: I must prioritize it. I regularly joke that I am majoring in the news.

I know that I am not the only one who is interested in keeping myself informed on the workings of the world and the nation. Last semester, I had more than one person come to me and ask if we could have an outside Iona news update in the paper. It is something people pick up and read anyways, so why not? Thus, I have created a sub-section of the news section dedicated to major things that have happened in the world since the last issue.

I thought about doing this last year, which was my first year as news editor. I wanted to give students and staff a quick spot to see what was happening outside our little bubble. I had been told that the goal was to focus on Iona news because everything should directly connect to Iona.

I believe that the purpose of the Ionian is to inform the Iona community. At its heart, that is the goal of every editor on the Executive Board of the Ionian and the reason that papers are created in the real world. The news section was created to give the Iona community information they need to know or should know. Knowledge about the world is imperative to any informed citizen, which is what a college seeks to create. To think critically about the world, one needs to be knowledgeable about what is happening in the world.

I will try to find the most important events that happen in the two weeks between issues, and report them as briefly as possible, giving reference to where I found them and where to find the full story. I will say now that my main sources will be the AP, the Washington Post, and The New York Times, because those are sources I trust as a journalism major.

I think that this will be a great addition to the news section for at least the next two years that I will be editor. I hope that it will be able to continue after I graduate, but I will be happy to have done it while I am here. I love information, may even be a little obsessed with it, and I think that this will be a great addition to the news section, giving students an easy place to access more information that they already do.

I would be happy to hear how people feel about this addition to the news section, so please feel free to email me at [email protected] if you have comments or questions! I am excited to see how people react this idea!

To contact the Ionian’s Abigail Rapillo, email her at [email protected].