The First
Print Edition
of the Semester!
THEIHERALD
@meredithherald
@ @meredith_herald
^ @meredith_herald
meredithherald.com
September 21, 2022
The Future of The Herald
By Aminah Jenkins, Editor in Chief
Today, Sept. 21, marks The Researchers pull from op-eds and
Meredith Herald’s first print edi
tion of the 2022-23 school year.
Like many things at Meredith, The
Herald has recently changed—and
many of our readers have noticed.
We’d like to take this time to for
mally reintroduce ourselves to the
campus community on our terms.
At its core, The Herald
is a news source. We often cover
on-campus events such as Corn-
huskin’ or club activities but also
cover news from the surrounding
area. According to the Student
Handbook, The Herald is “a ve
hicle for keeping the community
informed and a permanent record
of events that occur at Meredith.”
Every year, our staff re
flects on what news means to
us. News isn’t only defined by
the summation of events—it also
includes documenting changes at
Meredith and amplifying students’
voices throughout that process.
The Herald has experi
enced a notable shift in coverage,
moving from events-based articles
to more student-issue-oriented
ones.
Articles about Meredith’s
general education requirements;
student worker wages; gendered
language on campus and in admis
sions; COVID-19 policies; acces
sibility issues; inconsistent treat
ment by campus security and more
have documented ongoing conver
sations on campus and shed light
on ones previously had in private.
The Herald isn’t new to
this kind of coverage. Formerly
called The Twig, Meredith’s
student newspaper is often used
to research Meredith’s history.
articles to gauge the campus climate
and determine what was considered
significant at the time.
During the Spring of 2022,
three Meredith students—Hayden
Howlett, Inaya Rivera and Landt
Smith—worked with Dr. Fountain
and the Archives Department to
further examine the history of Mer
edith.
One striking finding was an
issue from April of 1968 when Mer
edith was considering integration.
The Twig published two supporting
and two opposing student opinions
about the topic.
At the time, it was rare for
students to share what they thought
about the decisions of the College.
The editor in chief at the time wrote
that “students are the news” and
that The Twig would “bring stu
dent concerns...to the attention of
faculty, administration and other
students.
Twigs Start Rres
a opportunity for sudcms U
StadMis are the ncwi; iherebre,
iil bris£ uude«
u (hiu. Our tdiiorials ai
n TC^rfed tnwcly
xh girMl^re i, no
ai api^is in
Photo courtesy of the
Meredith College Archives
However revolutionary these
articles were for their time, they
lacked one crucial thing—perspec
tive. The Herald’s efforts to include
student voices at that time were
Meredith Votes
By Camila Cardoso-Herrera, Contributing Writer
With less than two months
until Election Day, members of the
Meredith community are work
ing to increase civic participation
on campus. Meredith 'Votes is a
class with five Meredith students.
Dr. David McLennan, a professor
in the Political Science depart
ment and the head of the program,
stated, “The purpose of Meredith
Votes is to encourage Meredith
students to use prior knowledge
from a political class in real-world
politics. For the Meredith Com
munity, [we] encourage [them] to
educate themselves on politicians
and to go out and vote.”
One barrier to voting is the
access to vote in person due to the
distance from one’s polling loca
tion. This year, Meredith will have
Election Day off. Dr. McLennan
explained that “Meredith students
have had a higher turnout for voting
compared to other colleges in 2020.
Most [Meredith] students have
voted by either an absentee ballot
or even during early voting.” Dr.
McLennan believes that “not hold
ing classes might make it easier for
some students who like to vote in
person on Election Day, but hav
ing the day free from classes is an
important statement that Meredith
thinks voting is important.”
According to Meredith Poll’s
2022 survey of North Carolina vot
ers, only 78% of North Carolinas in
dicated an interest in voting. 'When
Dr. McLennan was asked if Mer
not extended to everyone. There
were no articles that actually had
the experience of the first Black
students on campus or even
acknowledged the significance of
their presence.
During the summer of
2020, The Herald entered a
period of coverage that worked to
capture student voices. Students
commented on how meaningful it
was to read stories relaying their
experiences. It was significant
for underrepresented students
to have their problems formally
written about.
The Herald was proud of
expanding its coverage. But the
truth is, this wasn’t something
that could genuinely be celebrat
ed.
Whether intentional or
not, students were telling The
Herald that they felt their voices
hadn’t mattered to the publica
tion.
That’s our purpose this
year—to shine a light in the dark
ness that is exclusion on campus.
This doesn’t just mean exclusion
from Meredith as an institution—
this means exclusion from cover
age.
Lacking coverage means
that integral parts of Meredith’s
history are excluded. There are
groups on campus that deserve to
be part of Meredtih’s story. They
deserve long-lasting recognition.
Groups like Angels for
Disability Advocacy have fought
against ableist policies and prac
tices on campus.
Groups like the Black
Student Union pushed Meredith's
administration to release an apol-
edith 'Votes would increase that
number, he said, “I am confident
that Meredith students will vote
at a higher rate this year.”
Meredith Votes has en
couraged students through voter
registration drives. The last event
was held on Sept. 7 from 10 a.m.
to 11 a.m. at Belk Dining Hall.
“Meredith Votes has also been
interacting with the first-year
students through going into [First
Year Experience] classes and edu
cating about the process of voter
registration and voting,” he said.
Through collaboration
with the History and Politics
Club, Meredith College Demo
crats and other organizations, a
voter registration drive was held
Photo by Grayson Morris
ogy statement for their response
to the Black Lives Matter move
ment during the summer of 2020.
Groups like Queer Space
work tirelessly for more inclusive
language for trans, non-binary
and queer students.
Groups like Angeles Lati-
nas advocate for Latine students
on campus.
Student journalism isn’t
supposed to be stagnant—it’s
meant to reflect the voices of
those on campus. And their voices
are loud.
As a staff. The Herald
is committed to seeking out the
untold stories of our community.
'We’ve made ourselves more avail
able to readers on our website by
including the emails of our Edito
rial Board and a Submit-A-Tip
section. We’re also creating posi
tions to examine our publication
process and make improvements
where needed.
New staff members pas
sionate about telling a story are
always welcome, regardless of
experience level. The Herald
looks forward to working with
the Meredith community this
year and hopes you’ll continue to
engage with our content.
on Sept. 20 for National Voter
Registration Day. Dr. McLennan
said that the class is also creating
a “Meredith Votes Voter Guide”
for the community with informa
tion about candidates and elec
toral races.
For those interested in
learning more about Meredith
Votes events and information, you
can follow them on Instagram at
@meredith_votes. Anyone who
wants to volunteer at voter regis
tration events and organize walks
to the polls can email meredith-
votes@email.meredith.edu for
more information.