Student journalism can change the world. Or at the very least, can deeply impact a community, no matter how big, and build something extremely politically engaged. It fosters and engages conversations, raises awareness and gives voice. It allows us to feature the world as we, mere college students, see it. It enables us to feel that we can change the world.
The Clarion has done a substantial amount of work for which we are remembered: the coverage of the first debate of the 2012 presidential race, Martin Luther King’s visit to the DU campus in 1967 and the launch of Driscoll Green Cannabis, a cannabis-focused column. Instead, I’d like to use the rest of this page to share what we’ve accomplished over the past few years and demonstrate that the unwavering effort, care and dedication my team and I have invested has yielded results that stand on par with the best.
In 2021-2022, Editor-in-Chief Tori Everson started the ‘Divestment‘ subsection, which focused on raising awareness of the university’s involvement in the fossil fuel industry and its impacts on the environment. Since then, groups like Divest DU and Students Against Investment in Fossil Fuels (SAIFF) have continued to pressure the administration to divest from fossil fuels.
During that year, DU and the world recovered from the COVID-19 pandemic. The university went from mandated wearing of masks and weekly COVID-19 detection tests to completely lifting the restrictions. You can find coverage of the campus climate during the pandemic registered on Clarion’s website.
In 2022-2023, Editor-in-Chief Ana Ortega launched a new section: UNIFY. The advocacy-journalism-centered beat allowed the Clarion to focus on the marginalized voices at DU, a historically predominantly white institution.
This wasn’t the first time the Clarion spotlighted the topic. During her tenure as Editor-in-Chief, Kiana Marsan (‘21), contributed to the ‘On the Margins at DU’ column. However, UNIFY marked a significant milestone — it was the first initiative to secure funding, allowing us to hire dedicated staff, including a Section Editor and a Marketing Director, solely focused on highlighting DU’s BIPOC affinity groups on our front page. Two years later, UNIFY continues to amplify these voices.
In 2023-2024, Editor-in-Chief Aubrey Cox brought back the print issue after a four-year hiatus caused by the pandemic. We’ve been printing twice a quarter since then. Bringing back the print issue was a matter of principle, but also opened doors for talent like never before. Given that the space in print is limited, we aim to highlight only the best of our team — which often proves to be a hard task. Within these pages, I hope you will come to agree with me.
Last year, we were also able to start a new Poetry and Prose section within print issues and were able to get people to engage with Clarion versions of Connections, the popular New York Times game, crosswords, sudoku and horoscopes.
In the 2024 spring quarter, we provided daily updates on the DU4Palestine encampment on campus, closely following key developments. We were on-site for the most impactful moments, including going live on Instagram during a late-night protest that drew over 200 participants, spectators and faculty marshals. Additionally, we covered DU’s 10th national hockey championship, capturing the celebration that swept across Evans Avenue and University Boulevard.
Since I started my time at the Clarion, I have been able to see so many of my peers flourish and become outstanding writers and reporters. I often find myself proud and inspired by my team: Riley, Annabelle, Emma, Josie, Haylee, Liam, Jackie and Avery, who can easily find the balance between being kind and assertive in their editing, foster mentorships with their writers and consistently show up for the team.
I’m utterly mesmerized by the talent of my team of contributing writers; you will find them to be the most engaged and enduring group on this campus. Not even a busy week of midterms steers them from contributing.
As we celebrate the Clarion’s 125th anniversary, we look forward to the next 125 years. The Clarion plans to start printing a magazine, to continue timely coverage of breaking news, follow the presidential and state elections and, most importantly, continue to amplify the voices on our campus. I invite you to keep following, keep reading and keep supporting us. Student journalism is at its prime.
