LETTER: Our promise to be better
Dear Hawks,
On Tuesday, June 2, The Signal posted a black square on Instagram with the caption “#blackouttuesday.”
The editorial board did not post this black square because it was trendy or because everyone else was doing it. The editorial board posted the square because we believe, wholeheartedly, that Black Lives Matter.
Under previous Editor-in-Chief Brandon Ruiz-Peña, diversity was one of the pillars of The Signal. We strove for inclusion in both our staff and in our content.
As your new editor-in-chief, my goal is to not only continue this practice but to increase diversity. Our mission is to inform, educate and engage our audience about things that affect them. Last year, The Signal came up with a motto to reflect our mission: Your Community, Your Voice, Your Signal. UHCL is a diverse university and it is a necessity for us to produce diverse content that raises the voice of every student.
As the student newspaper for UHCL, The Signal represents the voice of the students. We want to hear all voices, not just from the people we come in contact with every day. This is why we are changing the way we do things in the newsroom.
Going forward, we hope to increase our visibility on, and off, campus. We look forward to partnering with student organizations and campus departments to share the stories that matter to our community. Additionally, we will continue to send out surveys that aim to highlight students’ voices as we explore new avenues to amplify our community’s stories.
Our content is only going to diversify further. In previous years, we have published content relating to Black History Month, Hispanic History Month, Pride, Women’s History Month, etc. While this will continue, we are going to focus on highlighting diversity year-round, across all platforms, which will make it easier to find and access the content.
Our newsroom is a safe space, even when the campus is closed. All students should feel free to submit story ideas, letters to the editor and opinion pieces and articles. We represent the student voice, so we want to give everyone the ability to have their work published without having to join the newspaper full-time. The Signal is open to any and every UHCL student regardless of experience, skill, race, gender, ability, sexual identity and religion.
If you ever need to discuss a story idea or published content, my email is always open, and we can set aside time to talk through your ideas or your issues.
Additionally, The Signal is a safe space for all. If you don’t want to join the staff or publish content, our newsroom is still open to you if you want to hang out or discuss current events,
The Signal is not perfect, I won’t pretend that it is, but I can promise you that we will consistently strive to make sure every single student feels heard and valued.
Your editor,
Emily Nichelle Wolfe
