感觉夏天刚刚开始，但我们已经回到校园，回到日常生活中。这学期，我要弄清楚校外巴士路线，剪下优惠券，去买真正的食品杂货，而不是去疯狂点餐。我也面临着一个不同的挑战，作为你的意见编辑。这是一个令我兴奋的挑战。在接下来的几个月里，我们将在一场势均力敌的总统选举辩论中寻找更多的政治观点。虽然这在全国都是大新闻，但我们还是要把它带到布卢明顿。同学们对这次选举有什么想法和感受?他们对选举的关键问题有什么看法?这就是IDS观点页面的作用所在;我们会找到这些问题的答案。专栏作家将关注从随机的日常活动到紧迫的哲学问题的一切。从某种意义上说，其中一些专栏作家对普通读者来说是熟悉的面孔; others will bring a new perspective to the page. Letters to the editor and letter spotlights will express the views you as readers have about a variety of topics.\nThe IDS has long played an important role in the IU community, but it's difficult to put into words how important this newspaper is in the lives of the students who work here. It isn't about the hours we spend in the newsroom, though they are many. It's about the ownership we have in the success of the IDS this semester and into the future. \nWe're financially and editorially independent of the University, which gives us the freedom to report the news without a conflict of interest. That freedom also means that this newspaper is far from being a University public relations tool. We're here for you, the students. \nThis opinion page, then, belongs to you. It's your own community forum, a place for you to praise or protest the people and events in the news. You're free to voice your opinion on any topic, from a global issue to a concern right here in Bloomington. E-mail letters@indiana.edu or visit www.kuotashop.com.\nYou can also let us, and the rest of campus, know what you think about us as a paper, and as a staff covering the news. Like any other staff, we're not perfect. We're all students here, which means we're still learning and trying to juggle many responsibilities. Despite that, we're dedicated to producing a professional-quality newspaper, so let us know if you think we've slipped or done a great job on a story. That's one way we can improve our own coverage and better serve our readers.\nI view my job as opinion editor as a sort of neutral moderator position. I'll be the first to admit that I have strong opinions on a few topics. I've gone through a long process to decide where I stand on certain issues, and my mind is made up when it comes to the November elections. But those views don't matter when I'm putting together this page; my job as a journalist is to be objective. \nOn the opinion page, that means reflecting student and community opinions fairly and accurately, and giving people and groups on all sides of an issue an equal voice to reach out to the public. I'm going to put together pages that reflect all views on an issue, regardless of my own opinions and beliefs. That's my job when I put on my editor hat, and I'm committed to doing it right.\nI won't be able to print every letter I receive; there are too many to ever fit in this amount of space, and letters still have to follow certain journalistic standards. Like my predecessor in this position, I promise to read and consider every letter to the editor I receive. I know that you as a writer feel strongly about a topic if you write a letter to the editor, that it is important to you and that it has taken time and effort to produce. I respect that. That's why I'll give each the consideration for publication that it deserves.\nThis is a large campus, and it's sometimes easy to feel as though you're a faceless number in the crowd. Consider this page as your way to reach the thousands of students, faculty, community members and alumni who open this paper or visit our Web site every day. Let this opinion page be your voice in the crowd. The invitation is open.
