Dear fellow Patriots,

When preparing for the new year, we planned our vision for this newspaper. We not only seek to report the news, but to create a conversation with you and among you that promotes a more enjoyable college experience.  Within the pages of The Patriot we want to provide you with a place to share your point of view and, thereby, represent the student body.  We love to hear from you and welcome your comments and concerns, which have the potential to become news stories.  In addition to upholding the standards of accurate journalism, we want to produce an informative and visually attractive paper filled with engaging content that will keep you reading from page to page.

Our aim is to encourage dialogue between you, the Francis Marion University community, and your student newspaper.  By being accessible through social media as well as print, we invite you to join or create discussions on our Twitter, Facebook and Instagram pages.  Ultimately, we want to establish an active online forum; for example:  posing questions for the Campus Comment via Twitter.  You can also reach us by email at fmupatriotnews@gmail.com.

If you would like to expand on your views, we offer that space on our opinion page for Letters to the Editor submissions.  In a letter to the editor you can address any issue that you find important or feel should be brought to the attention of the student body.

Again, we value your comments and ideas as well as your questions and opinions about university life and happenings in the community.  We would like to hear the voice of every Patriot, and as we work to produce your paper, we strive to reflect the spirit of the students and represent the face of FMU.

Sincerely,

Melanie Mitchell, Robyn McNeil and Martha Armstrong