In the two weeks since The Hoya’s annual April Fools’ issue, we have taken a close look at our identity as Georgetown’s community newspaper of record and ways in which we can better fulfill our mission. At the public forum held last week, members of the community expressed ways in which some of our jokes were insensitive and hurtful, and the importance of a community newspaper remaining in touch with all parts of campus.

As a staff, we have been discussing serious, concrete ways in which we can be a more connected newspaper, even beyond the events of recent weeks. On Wednesday night, our staff passed a number of measures aimed at strengthening this vital part of our mission: commissioning a third-party review of The Hoya’s culture and coverage, instituting semesterly public readership forums, incorporating diversity training into our broader staff-wide training program, creating a staff development position focused on recruiting a more diverse staff and committing to holding more readership surveys and focus groups. In addition, we plan to make revenues from our April Fools’ edition available to a student who proposes a project or event that can serve the Georgetown community.

In the coming weeks, we will continue to engage in dialogue about ways in which The Hoya can better connect to and represent all members of our community. I believe these measures will greatly contribute to this effort.

Andrew Dwulet (COL ’10)

Editor in Chief

To send a letter to the editor on a recent campus issue or Hoya story or a viewpoint on any topic, contact opinionthehoya.com. Letters should not exceed 300 words, and viewpoints should be between 600 to 800 words.

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