By Ülvi Gitaliyev & Lily Barnette

On this day, exactly one year ago, The Berea Torch launched in online form. Since then, we have written thousands of words of news and opinion, interviewed dozens of students, candidates and local community members, and have made friends and connections with more people than we ever could have hoped for.

One year ago, we did not know how students, faculty, staff or the administration would react to our paper. To be honest, we did not expect to get much traction in our first semester at all. We are still surprised by how many busy Bereans, alumni and community members take time out their day to read, comment and share our posts.

Most of our writers had never worked for a student newspaper before and so, had to learn a lot while on the job and of course, mistakes were made early on. Over time, we talked to journalists both in the county, abroad, and are developing the skills of our trade. While many of our writers are now busier than ever, The Berea Torch will continue to support progressive causes in Madison County and beyond and report on campus events.

If you want to see us speak about our experience running The Berea Torch in more depth and ask us questions, then come to our Student Activist Series presentation at 12pm on February 1st at the bell hooks center; lunch will be provided!