As the new academic year kicks off, we want to remind students, staff and Evanston residents that the opinion section of The Daily Northwestern is open to all. It is truly the epitome of ‘choose your own adventure,’ a place where you have the ability to share your hot takes and analyses.
We welcome all types of opinion pieces, not just those about politics, campus life or city issues. We’d love to read about your own life. Last year, assistant opinion editor Yiming Fu wrote a piece titled “Hookup culture helped me find myself. I wish it didn’t have to be that way.” for his column “Rice Purity,” in which he reflected on his journey to self-love. Current print managing editor Selena Kuznikov wrote a reflective piece titled “I deserve a little treat, and so do you” in the spring to encourage self-care.
These are just a few of our recent personal narratives, and telling your own story is a great way to get into opinion writing. The impact of a reflection that readers can see parts of themselves in cannot be understated.
More than anything, we want to make clear the opinion section is for everyone. You don’t have to be a student or a journalism major to write for us ― we encourage people from all parts of Northwestern and Evanston communities to submit their pitches. That diversity of perspectives is what creates a powerful and representative opinion section — a place where people can express how they feel, in their own words.
We also are always looking to incorporate multimedia elements into the classic opinion piece, whether you’d like to record yourself reading your own piece, or include an accompanying illustration or cartoon. Opinion pieces have the unique ability to combine journalism’s dedication to truth and fact with the creative voice of the individual writer, and we think this can be shown through many mediums.
If there’s something you are passionate about, or a topic not usually covered by The Daily, send us a submission at [email protected]. We would like to publish as many stories that meet our policies as possible, but submitting an article does not guarantee publication.
Colin Crawford is a Medill junior. He can be contacted at [email protected].
Ethan Lachman is a Medill junior. He can be contacted at [email protected].
