Here at the Northern Iowan, we are responsible for monitoring updates and changes to campus services, investigating ongoing issues and uplifting the inspiring, hilarious and heartbreaking stories of our UNI community. We take that responsibility seriously, and I promise that we work hard to provide quality coverage of our campus.

That’s a promise we make at the NI every semester.

But this semester, it goes without saying that things are a little different.

The sheer volume of news that the NI will be covering this fall is overwhelming. COVID-19, of course, has already affected nearly every facet of campus life: we could fill whole newspapers with pandemic coverage alone. In addition, the Black Lives Matter movement and the November election will likely be frequent subjects of discussion in our newsroom.

And then, to top it all off, Mother Nature decided to send Iowa into the new school year with a derecho.

There is no end to the news cycle in 2020.

We here at the NI will do our very best to cover all the issues that matter to our campus this fall.

But we can’t do it without your help.

This fall, please help the NI team keep campus informed by letting us know about any news that you think we should know. While we have our ears to the ground and are constantly on the prowl for Panther news, we can’t be everywhere at once. We want to feature as many voices as possible as our campus responds to the various issues I described above, but sometimes, we don’t know about an important story until you tell us.

So, if there’s a topic you’d like to see us tackle or an issue we haven’t yet discussed, reach out.

If you’re a member of a student organization that’s been uniquely impacted by COVID-19, or if you know a student or professor doing great work, let us know.

If you hear a tip that you think we should investigate, drop us a line!

The Northern Iowan is, in the end, your campus newspaper. These pages and words, this paper and ink, aren’t just for those of us who sit in the office twice a week putting it together. We want to tell your stories and share the news that matters to you.

With your help, I promise that whatever happens this semester—whether we’re online or in person, together or apart—our staff will keep writing and publishing the news you need to know.

Here’s to a great fall 2020 semester. Go Panthers!