To Our Readers:

Georgetown’s inclusion among U.S. News and World Report’s top 25 national universities was met with (some) satisfaction by the university last week.

Okay, so there wasn’t a ticker-tape parade down 37th Street or anything. But the university did announce on the front page of its Web site a list of feats that were cited by the magazine, including Georgetown’s ninth-place ranking nationwide for graduation and retention rates.

Georgetown failed to mention in the release, of course, that it placed 38th in faculty resources, or that its alumni giving rate was close to 10 percentage points lower than that of most elite universities, but I won’t split hairs. The point is, if you think you’re attending a flawless institution, as the university and many of its students may sometimes lead you to believe, you’re a little delusional.

Georgetown is a very good school, but like any institution that’s typically considered second-tier, it lags behind top-tier institutions in some respects. Most alarming, because of a culture of administrative secrecy and a lack of student organization, the people who are most directly affected by the changes made at this university often have little input in the changes themselves – as evidenced, most notably, by the lack of transparency and student input on the university’s board of directors.

Any strong leader recognizes problems with his or her organization, and those who run this university undeniably work long hours to make the Hilltop a better place. But if only a select few hold authority over what really matters at this university, then some perspectives will inevitably be ignored, and Georgetown will never be able to reach its full potential. It’s essential that students do their best to make this university as good as it possibly can by making their voices heard, and it’s equally important that administrators heed the advice of those that are most affected by their daily decisions.

There’s only so much that one student can do on behalf of the university community, but as editor in chief of Georgetown’s oldest and most-read student newspaper, I can assure you that our entire staff is doing everything in its command to make THE HOYA as good as it can be.

THE HOYA is kind of like Georgetown: it’s very good, but not ideal.

According to the results of a survey that we took last September, less than half of our readers pick up the paper more than a few times a month, and most of you think our Web site could be substantially improved. Additionally, as a twice-weekly paper, THE HOYA can’t cover developing stories as well as the daily papers at most elite institutions and due to budgetary and staff constraints, our coverage isn’t always as comprehensive as the university community should expect.

We’re working hard to alleviate these concerns, and this semester, we intend to make numerous changes that will both improve our service and ensure THE HOYA’s continued improvement in future years.

Expect more expansive and in-depth coverage across all sections – particularly those that readers expressed dissatisfaction with in the survey – including more diverse perspectives on the op-ed page, more lifestyle-related content in THE GUIDE and more investigative pieces in the sports section. Because of the integration of our new copy staff, expect fewer factual and typographical errors in each issue. Since we’re exploring ways to redesign our Web site, expect a new and improved www.thehoya.com in the coming months – until then, I hope you take advantage of our new editorial board blog, which will serve as a forum to discuss the board’s opinions, and be updated with every issue of THE HOYA beginning next week.

We are also working to make institutional reforms that will ensure THE HOYA’s continued development in future years. We are making strides toward becoming an independent newspaper, which would make us more accountable to the university community and give us more freedom and responsibility over our coverage and business operations. Because THE HOYA’s board of directors would become the publisher of the newspaper after we become independent, THE HOYA would be able to better pursue long-term reforms and would be able to more easily grow into the newspaper that this community should expect. We have already begun to consider ways to make this possible, as we are currently reviewing all of our editorial policies to suggest institutional reforms that we’d like to pursue after becoming an independent organization.

Your responses in our readership survey helped us identify many ways that we can improve, but only with your repeated feedback can we continue to serve you better. If you ever have concerns with our coverage or wish to suggest improvements, please write a letter to the editor, or, if you feel uncomfortable voicing your ideas in print, send me a personal e-mail at editorthehoya.com.

If you think that you can make THE HOYA better by writing articles, taking photos, designing pages or working in our business office, then think about joining our staff. We’re always looking for new members, regardless of whether you’re a freshman or a graduate student, and will be holding several open houses and training sessions in the coming weeks.

But if you’re not interested in working for THE HOYA, I hope that you’ll find some way to make this a better institution. Georgetown would benefit from your help.

Max Sarinsky Editor in Chief THE HOYA August 2007