We, the editorial staff of the Echo for the 2024-25 school year, are dedicated to providing Augsburg community members of all identities and experiences a fair and open platform to state their grievances, inform the community, critique the systems in power and celebrate each other. In order to ensure our publication remains a well balanced, fair and high quality student publication,  we have created this list of goals and commitments. 

The goals of the editorial staff of the Echo for this year are as follows: 

1. Increase visibility on campus

The Echo aims to increase its visibility within the campus community via various outreach methods including but not limited to visiting classes, creating promotional materials and social media engagement.

2. Foster and create connections with other Student Organizations

The Echo aims to foster collaborations and partnerships with other Student Organizations and Departments on campus through mutual promotion of and hosting of events.

3. Increase recruitment of writers

The Echo aims to increase its regular pool of writers by retaining and promoting at least five regular Staff Writers by the end of the academic year. 

Our commitments to the Augsburg community and the surrounding communities in the Cedar-Riverside and Minneapolis area are as follows: 

1. High Journalistic Standards

The Echo aims to strengthen its journalistic writing skills and integrity. We want to be accurate, consistent and up to par with the journalistic standards of AP style insofar as those standards do not exclude community voices. Educate our writers on plagiarism and using original verbiage. 

2. Politically Active

The Echo aims to be politically active in its story coverage. Our journal will not shy away from doing political education stories or covering politically-charged issues.

3. Community Centered

The Echo aims to be a community centered publication in its story coverage and practices. We will center the voices of the Augsburg and greater Cedar-Riverside community in all we do.

In this critical election year, we as the editorial staff of the Echo urge the individuals of the Augsburg and greater Cedar-Riverside community to vote if possible. 

Given the ever-evolving political landscape of the United States, it is crucial that you use your voice and participate in the democratic process. While we will not tell you who to vote for, it is imperative that you remember how much of an impact your vote has on yourself, your community and even the strangers you see in the world. The choice between candidates is not an easy one, but we urge you to make the best choice for yourself and others. We also want to remind you of the fact that not everyone who resides in this country has the right to vote for who represents them, so if you have the right please use it.

Our position as Augsburg’s student newspaper gives us the platform to influence campus politics as we provide a space for students to speak about topics that matter to them. We will continue to provide and cultivate a space where all students can speak about the political issues that matter most to them without bias in our overall coverage as a journalistic entity. The Echo welcomes students who would like to share their thoughts about any current political topic in our Opinions section. We also encourage all students on campus to stay up to date with the current events reported not only in the Echo but those reported on by the news sources of the wider world.