Dear Catalyst readers,
We met when we sat across from each other in an Introduction to Journalism class freshman year. After class, having spoken only a couple of words to one another, we walked to the bookstore to pick up our textbooks together. We were decidedly attached at the hip from that moment onward.
Many, many journalism classes and published articles later, we’re taking on a challenge slightly bigger than a walk to the bookstore: serving as Co-Editors-in-Chief of The Catalyst.
The dream has been a long time coming. Now that it is here, we want to properly introduce ourselves and help you understand how we intend to care for this newspaper that is so near and dear to our community. It is not a responsibility we take lightly.
What makes The Catalyst unique from other collegiate newspapers is the community it serves. Students, faculty and community members alike understand that Colorado College is home to something special: a fast-paced lifestyle where you can attend a lecture in the morning and rock climb at Garden of the Gods in the afternoon, where we work hard, play hard and shift the axis of our entire schedules every three and a half weeks. We’re flexible because we have to be.
Over the past year, under our remarkable predecessors, Tessa Frantz ‘27 and Lilly Asano ‘27, The Catalyst grew in not only the number of stories we were producing, but also the breadth of stories we were able to tell. On the student side, we covered everything from housing missteps to vehicle theft, student protests and on-campus crime. Along the way, our writers also reviewed almost every burger in Colorado Springs and covered the life of a campus squirrel who led a few students to the ER for rabies shots. Beyond the student experience, our team made intentional efforts to expand into the community we call home, covering a community emu’s fifth birthday, emergency protests downtown and how the detainment of local community members led to public outrage.
It’s no secret that now is a difficult time for publications in higher ed. In a moment of increased political scrutiny towards the press, we are acutely aware of our responsibility to maintain The Catalyst’s integrity as a source of reliable, accurate and well-reported news to the college community and the surrounding local area. Our team is constantly discussing the ways in which we can broaden our horizons and better serve our community during these uncertain political times.
We intend to give our talented reporters every resource they need to succeed in telling the stories that matter, not only to us, but to our community. To be the best that we can be, the diversity within our newsroom must reflect the diversity of our outside community. Seeking out the widest range of voices possible is extremely important to us.
We want The Catalyst to be a place where everyone feels comfortable asking questions, sharing opinions, pitching ideas and trying something new. This paper belongs to all of us. We welcome any feedback and pitches. We are grateful for all of our staff, without whom there would not be a newspaper at all.
Onward, to take on this final challenge right where it all started. Together.
Signed,
Sydney McGarr ‘27 and Michaela Ocko ‘27