“Good, better, best — never let it rest ‘til your good is better and your better is best.”

We at The Guilfordian are proud of our weekly paper. We stand behind it. We love it. We promote it. Yet, even we know it is not perfect. There is always room for improvement.

Hence our trip to the Windy City. On Nov. 1–4, 10 editorial board members flew to Chicago for the Associated Collegiate Press National College Media Convention. This annual convention is filled with seminars, speakers, critiques and more. We were in newspaper heaven. We had the opportunity to meet other college newspaper staffs, swap stories and information and check out other page layouts. Basically, this convention was the definition of journalistic geeking out.

Chicago both raised us up and centered us back down.

The convention reminded us that we are a strong paper, but it also taught us that we can advance even further. Moving forward, we need to make our website more interactive. We need to progress into the future of journalism by taking control of our social media. And we need to take the plunge into uninhibited creativity and adjust our layout style to that of the modern age.

So, as readers, you will begin to see some changes. The Chicago convention gave us the energy and the information to spur us into a new phase of excellence. But make no mistake; the changes we are making are not to win awards. They are to benefit the community in which we all live. They are to ensure you are engaged in the news we bring to you and that the information we provide is pertinent and enlightening for everyone.

The convention also reminded us that the Web is expanding; therefore, we will begin to expand our web as well. We learned great tricks for this renovation, including how to link other pages to our website so that you have access to multiple sources with the click of a mouse.

We will to continue to grow our social justice site (www.guilcosojo.com), which is an asset that sets The Guilfordian apart from other collegiate publications. You will begin to see even more Guilford-made videos and photo slideshows. We are going to implement polls. We will upload more stories and pictures to Facebook and Twitter. Overall, we are ready and equipped to take the future into our own hands and work within the new ways of journalism.

The ultimate goal of a student-run newspaper is to provide a source of accurate and interesting news, for the students and by the students. The Guilfordian is here to represent the whole student body. We work hard to provide you with the information you want, the information you need and the information that is important to you. Moving forward, you can count on us to convey importance in an intriguing format and language. Together, our editorial board and writers will produce weekly issues of substance and innovation.

But our goal cannot be achieved alone. We need your help, readers. Let us know what you think about graphics, design, content and writing style. The Guilfordian is not an organization opposed to change or new ideas. Sometimes, it takes a fresh set of eyes to spot the changes necessary for real growth.

So tell us what you think! Email us ([email protected]), Facebook us (The Guilfordian), or tweet at us (@TheGuilfordian). Stop by the new Pub Suite on the first floor in Founders. Write on the posters we are posting around campus, asking, “What do you want to see in your newspaper?” We, now more than ever, want to hear from you. Your ideas, your thoughts, your feelings, your likes and dislikes, your roses and your thorns all have an impact on what you see in print and on web weekly. We truly appreciate every sentiment.

The biggest lesson we gained from Chicago is that we can do this. We are going to work hard to give this community a newspaper that everyone can benefit from. We promise to produce a newspaper of which everyone can be proud.