Dear members of the Sacramento State community,

Our mission at the Hornet is to get you thinking: thinking about the news, thinking about the issues and thinking about what it means to be a part of this campus.

After a cartoon we published a few years ago made the news for its vulgarity and disrespect for women and minorities, then-provost Joseph Sheley criticized the Hornet’s editors’ judgment – which was completely legitimate. From that point on, each set of editors has promised to offend for more than just the sake of offending – we offend you because we are making a point, a stand or you pay attention to something we feel you should be aware of.

You may have noticed there is a new direction for the Hornet this semester. This was borne out of a comically disastrous road trip and feeling so hopeless and desolate about the state of our paper in relation to other papers throughout California and the nation that we had to do something – anything – to elevate us from a pit of despair. At the time, we were just following precedent – covering the things we thought we absolutely had to cover. Now, we are doing our best to pay attention to what you want to learn about and what matters to you. At the start of each semester, we ask every staff member to take an inventory of his or her likes and interests, and we began to tailor our coverage to the small snapshot of humanity that exists in this newsroom. We responded to what people, just like you, wanted.

That is why we were surprised to receive criticism for our front pages covering condom usage and Eve Ensler’s play “The Vagina Monologues.” It’s 2013, everyone – we would be remiss if we did not promote safe sex and positive body image. Talking about normal body parts – in clinical terms, no less – is OK. With approximately 28,000 students on campus, we assume at least a few of you are women with vaginas, and a few of you are sexually active with whoever makes you happy. Would you prefer we use slang terms? We can think of a few off the tops of our heads that would make this a much less pleasant paper to read.

We’re a student learning lab. Each semester brings us new editors, new writers, new photographers and new skill levels to which we are constantly having to adapt. We are not perfect, and we ask your patience as we navigate the waters, because our journey to learning never ends.

That being said, we want your feedback. The editors at this publication have tried to get you to give it to us to hardly any avail. The editor in chief’s email address is on the rack cards – you know, those bright green or orange or pink signs sitting above this paper? Send her an email. Send any editor in the staff box on page A2 an email. Tell us about it on Facebook. Tweet what you think on Twitter.

Find us on facebook.com/statehornet or twitter.com/thestatehornet. Like something? Awesome. Use the hashtag #goodhornet. Hate something? Tell us and use #badhornet. We want to know.

Sincerely,

Alexandra Poggione, Editor in Chief

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 Janice Daniels, Print Managing Editor  Robert Linggi, Online Managing Editor