As you may have noticed, this week, The Auburn Plainsman has made some changes.
The "Community" section, which has gone through several name changes during the years, but has always been section A and focused on events and people in the greater Auburn-Opelika area, has become section B.
The former B section, "Campus," has moved to the front of the paper and will flow seamlessly from the front page.
This decision was not made hastily, but was made after a careful examination of what is the core mission of this paper.
The Auburn Plainsman is a campus newspaper, and we believe that because the majority of our readers are students, campus news should be our first priority both in coverage and how our paper is laid out.
This is not to say anything will be taken from the "Community" section. The Plainsman is dedicated to covering the off-campus community, and we will continue to pursue these stories with the same diligence we do on-campus news.
Nevertheless, Auburn University is a college campus, and the move of "Campus" to section A is merely an acknowledgement of our largest group of readers, making it easier for them to access the news and features that affect them most.
Another change you may have noticed is the move of the "Commentary" page to B3.
We have also renamed this page "Opinions."
This decision was made to clear up any confusion readers may have had about the content of this page.
We feel "Opinions" will make it clear to readers that the words printed on this page are solely those of the Editorial Board, our columnists and letters from you, our readers.
Oftentimes, changes such as these are made at the beginning of a semester to signal an efficient transition to the new style.
We decided not to wait because we reasoned that if we knew this change would enhance your reading experience, there was absolutely no reason to wait.
While any change can take time getting used to, these changes are in step with the work that has been done all year by this staff to produce a product whose design is as easy to navigate as its content is engaging.
We have focused all year on improving our design, and the feedback has been positive.
In keeping with our spirit that is not afraid, we are willing to make any change that best suits the most important part of the newspaper business: the readers. For you, our goal is to provide the best college newspaper every week.
So let us know what you think. Go online and fill out our poll, send us letters and let us know what else we can change to make your weekly reading experience that much better.
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