I hope the first semester of the Special Section launch proved successful. After announcing our commitment to daily publication for a month (which I will fondly call our “30 under 30” initiative – publishing at least 30 articles under 30 days), we followed through with class highlights and collaborations, one-time and annual event features, as well as profiles of outstanding individuals and groups. The partnering of the News and Specials Sections allowed students outside of the Independent to contribute their opinions, forming class highlights, in which students from a Justice Studies class turned a critical mind on issues within and beyond campus; collaborating with Parole Illinois brought a multi-day series in which incarcerated artists express their feelings through their artwork; from a Native American Heritage Month educational trip to see exhibits in the wider city to a recap of the annual State of the University address, these special events were given a special spotlight; and last but not least, we were able to engage in conversations with individuals and groups making differences. As we kept writing, we found many of our individual articles fit better together – hence the decision to start series like the Sustainability Series and the Cafeteria Chronicles – ones we plan to continue even after the semester’s over and our goal has been reached.
When 2024 comes to a wrap, like many of our writers, we hope to leave behind the stress of meeting timelines and be well rested for a new cycle.
Looking ahead to 2025, we seek to form new collaborations, continue the ones that already exist, and expand our reach – in the Specials Section and across the Independent.
From your faith in our initial launch to having articles from the Specials Section do a complete “Trending” takeover for many weeks, thank you all for sticking with and reading us. While we will be on hiatus over winter break, we welcome any feedback and ideas.
Let us know how we did or pitch us something for the future.
Stay tuned for Spring ‘25!
