Why should you read The Daily Collegian? Actually, why should anyone read this newspaper, when he or she has classwork to read, and he or she can get news from television or the Internet?

Well, to me, the answer is clear. You need to read The Daily Collegian because it is your newspaper.

It's as simple as that. Sure, you can get information from those other sources, but none of them truly will be the Penn State students' paper.

We cover events and issues that directly affect your way of living at Penn State. We give you fun, interesting stories.

We even know how busy your schedules are and how little time you really have to read a newspaper -- we're all students, just like you, balancing full-time schedules and working long hours. So we try to give the most information we can to you in a concise manner.

Generally, the writers, photographers, graphics artists and editors understand what you're going through at this point in your lives, because we're students, too. That's the biggest reason why you should read the paper. We know who our audience is, and we can relate to their lives.

Here at the Collegian, I can also guarantee that we strive to cover each story fairly and accurately. We check and double check our facts, and for the most part, we make sure everything is the best it can be before we print it in the newspaper.

But in order to fully understand the work we put into the daily newspaper, allow me to explain a little bit about who we are and where I'd like us to go this semester. Each day, a group of amazingly talented men and women come together to produce a newspaper for students.

The students are out in the Penn State community, asking questions; they're scouring each word written on the screen in front of them, looking for mistakes; they're carefully placing photos, graphics and stories on the pages of the newspaper, making the design visually pleasing and practical.

These people who comprise the Collegian actually have a purpose for bringing together this information. These enthusiastic journalists are a part of this paper because they want you to know what's going on in the world. Really.

And this semester, we're going to try even harder to prove our dedication to continuing to be your student newspaper. We're going to make even more sure that our facts our correct. We're going to try harder to cover issues and events that you talk about every day. We're going to try harder to foster a more comfortable atmosphere for a diversity of students.

That's our ultimate goal, and we're striving to reach it. I'm excited to see how we improve and evolve during Spring Semester 1999, and I'm glad that you are all at the university to see our changes.

In addition to seeing more out of the newspaper itself, I hope you will see more of the Collegian staff members in the community.

I want every student at Penn State, as well as every student who is part of the Collegian, to understand that we are all part of the same community, and we are all responsible for that community.

As journalists, we have to get out of our seclusion behind the computer and involve ourselves -- that is the only way we will continue to know what is really happening in the community.

So, please expect more out of The Daily Collegian than you ever have in the past. I want you to.

I also invite you to hold me accountable for anything that I have stated so far. If you see something in the paper that you think is incomplete, call me, and we'll talk about it. If you think we missed the mark with finding issues that are relevant to you the student, tell me about it. The phone number for The Daily Collegian News Division is 865-1828. I, or another editor, will help you, because the more feedback we receive from you, the better we can be.

Even if you see me in one of your classes and want to talk to me about the newspaper or journalism in general, I'm more than willing to have a discussion with you.

Things are changing at the Collegian. And changes are good.

You may not always like what we say during the semester, but we're going to educate you about a variety of issues. You have to know that we want and strive to bring you the fairest, most accurate coverage possible.

And that's why you should read the newspaper. As I told the Collegian staff, Spring Semester 1999 is going to be one wild, fun, stressful, informative ride, and we're all lucky to be a part of it!