As the new Reflector staff takes over for the upcoming semester, the former staff says goodbye. That’s not to say that the former staff has not left an impression.
“Wilson Boyd was an excellent editor and so was Josh Foreman, the former editor in chief,” Dustin Barnes, managing editor, said.
Certain pressures come with these new positions, said assistant news editor Wade Patterson.
“The pressure is very hard because The Reflector has a very long history and whatever I do becomes a part of that history,” Patterson said.
Elizabeth Crisp, the new editor in chief, said, “I definitely feel pressure to live up to The Reflector’s reputation. We won a lot of awards over the last two years, but I am happy with the new staff and believe we are going to do great things in the future.”
Incoming news editor Sara McAdory covered the Student Association for The Reflector this year. McAdory said she wants to include more feature stories in the fall.
Tyler Stewart, the new entertainment editor, said, “I plan to throw new ingredients the entertainment section.”
Stewart wants to cover a wider range of entertainment, especially community events. He also wants to get more student input, so that he can cater to the students’ interests.
Ross Dellenger, the new sports editor, has new plans for his section, also.
“I’d like to make the section focus more on campus sports and activities. I’d also like to do more features on coaches and athletes,” Dellenger said.
Jed Pressgrove, the new opinion editor, said: “I’m attracted to the most unusual and relevant opinions, and I hope that my interest in these things will make the page one that everyone wants to read. I want there to be a constant surprise when someone reads the opinion page.”
“I want to continue building our reputation. I would also like to be more open to student’s ideas,” Crisp added. “I would like to get more people involved with The Reflector. The more people we have, the more diverse of an opinion we can have. I have big hopes for The Reflector and I am determined to see it through.”
Crisp, who started out as a news writer and progressed through the assistant news editor and news editor positions before being named editor in chief, said she has some experience to guide her. She interned last summer at The Jonesboro Sun in Jonesboro, Ark., and was selected to intern at The Clarion-Ledger in Jackson this summer.
“I received first place in page layout at the Southeastern Journalism Conference this year, and I was editor in chief of my high school paper for two years,” she said. “Working with Josh and Wilson were also great learning experiences.”