I'll try not to let it get to my head...

Today is my first official day as Editor in Chief as Thrasher made the announcement at last night's Christmas party. I will do my best to continue the high standards that Kelcie returned to the Herald.

I am moved into the office and I am beginning to get quite comfortable in this chair. Also we have made a few changes with our associate editors for the Spring semester.

Wendy Miller - News Editor
Ashley Helliwell - Photo Editor
Austin Emerson - Sports Editor
Meghan Allen - Opinion Editor
Cecily Long - A&F Editor
Derek Good - Online Editor

I think they will do an excellent job next semester.

Also we are in the process of moving our blogs. I have moved Inside 224A to wordpress because I think it is better than Blogger. The new link is here.

We will see after winter break! Thanks for reading!

All over, all over ...

After 25 issues of late nights fueled by candy, my tenure as editor-in-chief of The Herald has come to an end. Our last paper of the semester is currently at press and should be hitting newstands any time now.
I have definitely learned a lot this semester; I probably learned more by putting out one issue of The Herald than I have in months of classes. (No offense to any of my professors; experience is just the best teacher!) Anyway, while it has been quite stressful and overwhelming at times, there's still nothing quite like seeing a front page all over campus that you designed. Seeing people looking at and reading your work
is always a good feeling.
Pick up today's Herald when you get a chance and flip to the opinions page for the final "Our View," which I wrote to close out the semester. Also, look around our Web site this afternoon for additional stories not in today's paper.
Current sports editor, Sam Pierce, will be taking over next semester as editor-in-chief, and I'm sure he'll do a great job. He is currently in the process of naming his associate editors. And also, Sam will soon be taking over this blog, Inside 224a, so every post from now on will be by him. I told him I'm keeping my office until Monday when we have our Herald Christmas party, but after that, it's all his.
So, thanks for reading everyone! It's been a pleasure. Good luck on your finals, and MERRY CHRISTMAS!!!

Welcome back A-Staters!

Welcome back A-Staters! I hope you all had a fabulous Thanksgiving. I did indeed. We, at The Herald, are currently working on our final edition of the paper for this semester. It will come out Thursday. We're working on a story about the Moot Court team (a pre-law club), which just competed in a regional competition and qualified for nationals in California. There also may be a story about ASU student Hilary Davidson, who is proposing legislation to the Arkansas Legislature that would prevent texting while driving. Davidson's father was killed by a driver who was texting. Be looking for these stories and more in Thursday's paper! And, if you have anything that's been on your mind that you'd like to submit in a "Letter to the Editor," do it quick ... time is running out!

that time of year

Well, I don't know about yall, but I am getting very excited about this time of year :) I LOVE Christmas and have been extremely ready for it to get here all semester. Every time I hear Christmas music playing in stores or on TV (which is already happening constantly) I get giddy with excitement :) I even love the cold weather ... as long as it's not too windy ... I love bundling up and just taking in the cold air. Before Christmas comes, though, we have Thanksgiving. And I'm just as excited to eat some of my family's cooking! (I'm also excited to take a break from school, obviously). When we get back, we have just one regular week of classes left! And just one issue of The Herald ... then finals. So, enjoy your break! And Happy Holidays!

whether it's riot or not ...

Howdy folks.

If you haven't read it yet, today's Herald includes a follow-up story about students involved with the so-called riot at The Grove apartments Nov. 4. Several students are planning to file complaints with the Jonesboro Police Department over the way police handled the incident. They say police caused things to get out of hand and started arresting people for no real reason.

In case you haven't been keeping up, this story has been receiving national attention! How crazy is that. I found today the story posted on MSNBC. In the story, it is discussed BEFORE a similar incident that took place in New York.

Some students involved have also been posting their sides of the story in all different places and sending out e-mails.

We've also been getting lots of comments on our Web site.

So, what do you think about the whole situation. From what you've read, do you think the police handled the situation correctly? Leave me a comment and let me know!

counting down the days

Sorry, I haven't had a lot of time to blog lately! It's that time of the semester when everything is due, but there's no time to do it! It's also coming down to our very last issues of this semester's Herald. I know you're sad, aren't you? :) Well, there's just four issues left. That's right, four! And you know what that means ... school is almost out! I don't think I have ever been as anxious for a semester to be over. Not that I haven't enjoyed my time as Editor-in-Chief :) But my, how it will be nice to lay on the couch, eat home-cooking and watch Christmas movies. I'm definitely looking forward to a little R & R. What about you? What are your plans for the break??

if you read yesterday's paper...

If you read yesterday's Herald (including the article about the incident at The Grove), be looking out for a follow-up article. Several people who were in the crowd are indicating that the police reports, which were used as sources for the article, were not accurate. We will probably be running a follow-up story Monday with several of those people giving their side of the story.

if you read yesterday's paper...

If you read yesterday's Herald (including the article about the incident at The Grove), be looking out for a follow-up article. Several people who were in the crowd are indicating that the police reports, which were used as sources for the article, were not accurate. We will probably be running a follow-up story Monday with several of those people giving their side of the story.

if you read yesterday's paper...

If you read yesterday's Herald (including the article about the incident at The Grove), be looking out for a follow-up article. Several people who were in the crowd are indicating that the police reports, which were used as sources for the article, were not accurate. We will probably be running a follow-up story Monday with several of those people giving their side of the story.

...democracy in action

Well, today is the day. After nearly two years of campaigning, it ends today. I just cast my vote about an hour ago, and it felt pretty good. I've been vocal about elections since I was a kid, but this was my very first time to cast my presidential vote. (In case you don't know, it went to McCain). I'm still hoping for the comeback King to pull through tonight!

By the way, has everyone picked up our election edition? They're on newstands all over campus. There are stories on student involvement in the campaigns, first-time voters, the candidates' stances on the economy and Iraq and the results from our campus-wide survey. I must admit; I think the paper turned out pretty well!

AND I just posted online an interview with presidential candidate Ralph Nadar. He answers 10 questions submitted by college newspapers.

Anyway, enjoy your election day, and if there's anyone out there who's still waffling,

VOTE MCCAIN :)

Election Edition coming Monday!

Well, The Herald seems a little empty today. Lots of our staff members left yesterday for the National College Media Convention in Kansas City. I stuck around because I have a wedding to be in this weekend (not to mention, running the paper & a million other things).

I'm about to start working on Monday's paper, a special Election edition! It will include stories discussing the candidates' stances on various issues and ASU students and faculty members' opinions about them.

PLUS it will include the results of our campus-wide survey, which we conducted last week! Interested to see where your fellow students stand on the issues and who they're voting for? Pick up The Herald Monday afternoon.

Media & Politics

It's finally the weekend.
I'm pretty glad about that though it doesn't look like I'm gonna have much down time over the next two days. But that's ok. At least class won't be a part of it.

Yesterday ASU's student chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists hosted a panel on "Media & Politics." There we had Dr. Wang, chair of the Political Science Department, Kelly Kissel of the Associated Press, and Elizabeth Aymond of the Republican Party.

The discussion got a little heated as one lady in the audience kept insisting that the media is completely liberally biased. Kissel and Wang begged to differ. (I begged to agree) But anyway, the panel was interesting and went well.

This week we at The Herald took a survey among students about the presidential election. Stories telling the results will run Nov. 3 in The Herald. It's an issue you won't want to miss.

I'm moving on...

I am really tired. Just when I thought getting out of the office at 11:45 was too good to be true, I realized... it was. Last night was another 1:15er, but that's ok.

On a positive note, we FINALLY got our TV in The Herald working... all four channels.

Today's paper was out at an astounding 2:30! Pretty incredible I do say... If you're wondering, which you're probably not, why there hasn't been an issue in color yet, it's because the man in the print shop who knows how to print in color is MIA, and apparently no one else down there knows how to do it.It looks like I may never know what it's like as editor to put out a color paper.

On a different note... I typed up this long rant of a post the other day about how I was tossing CNN to the wind and going full Fox News, but then I ended up not posting it because I probably, unfortunately, will continue to watch CNN sometimes (like when Fox is on commercial). But really, I am getting really fed up with the liberals (disguised as journalists) at CNN. (Campbell Brown, for one). Oh & lo & behold, Glenn Beck, the only conservative on Headline News/CNN is moving to Fox! What a surprise... they just couldn't stand having one differing viewpoint with them any longer. I had always thought I couldn't get used to watching any other network because I had "grown up" with CNN, but I'm learning to be quite comfortable with those at Fox News. You should turn your TV to channel 53 as well; you just might feel the same.

debate night in america... and the production room

Howdy. Well production night is getting kicked off. Tomorrow's paper will include (I think)... SGA coverage, a story about the lack of dental schools around, a story about going green and more. Be sure and check it out!

Right now, I'm just getting started editing the stories and waiting for the Presidential debate to start. Maintenance STILL hasn't gotten our cable hooked up in here, so I am gonna try my hardest to find a place where I can watch the debate online. Every other time I've tried, this computer wouldn't download whatever I needed to watch live video. But Meghan said she found a Web site (hulu) that should work. Hopefully!

Well, I better get to work. Be sure and pick up a paper tomorow!

And post a comment and let me know what you think about tonight's debate!

Journalism alumni speakers series, speaker #3

Chris Bynum, a 1970 graduate of the Journalism Department, is on campus today speaking with journalism classes. She'll be speaking with our Herald staff at 5 p.m.

She is a former editor of The Herald and is a health and fitness writer for the New Orleans Times-Picayune. She was part of the pulitzer prize-winning staff that covered Hurricane Katrina.

In my feature writing class at 2 p.m., she spoke and showed us a slideshow of images from Katrina. It was very interesting to hear someone who not only covered the disaster but lived it. Ms. Bynum lost her home and all her belongings in the flood. She told us how she had to balance living the storm with covering it.

She also told about her days as a fashion writer. She often covered big events like NYC's "Fashion Week." There, she attended Cher's Halloween/Birthday party, about which she wrote a piece "Desperately seeking Cher." (She never found her)

To read some of Ms. Bynum's work, click here

Power Out*Power On

Power Out*

So, I just typed out a whole blog post, and then the electricity randomly shut off for a half a second, causing me to lose everything. How nice.

My computer in my office is really screwed up anyway, I'm pretty sure. It has been taking multiple tries (refresh, refresh, refresh) every time I even try to go to a Web site!

So, now I'm on one of these staff computers out in The Herald newsroom. If anyone reading this knows what's wrong with my computer, please help! It is ESPECIALLY stubborn when trying to use the wonderful new ASU Web site. Every single time I try to type something in the search bar, it freezes up, and I'm forced to force quit. It's really pleasant.

But enough of that.

Power On*

My ORIGINAL post today was about how I think, after 12 issues, I'm finally starting to get the hang of this editor thing. I got out of here last night at 12:30, and (compared to previous experiences) I was pretty pleased with that.

And, I think the papers are starting to improve (appearance and quality). Hopefully, I'm not just kidding myself. You be the judge.

We are still working to get our new Web site launched. Please be patient with us! Jonathan (online editor) and I had a conference call a few days ago with the guy from the company that hosts our site. And now it's just a matter of learning how to operate everything before we officially launch.

We are also working on ideas for how to cover the presidential election on Nov. 4. We're thinking of doing a whole issue (Nov. 3) devoted to the subject with lots of different stories about it. What do you think? Have any ideas of things we should cover?

For one thing, we've collaborated with The Cavalier Daily of the Univ. of Virginia on a project in which we (along with many other schools) submitted questions for the candidates to answer. If all works out as planned, we should receive back their answers to the questions (that were selected to be asked) so we can run them in The Herald.

So keep on reading and keep on logging on... good things are comin'

issue #11

Hope everyone has had a fantastic weekend!

My Saturday was spent writing a feature story, so it wasn't all that fabulous...

And now, it's production night once again... working to put out issue #11 of The Herald! Tomorrow's paper will include coverage from the Paul Shanklin lecture Thursday night (the conservative political satirist), an article about a new relaxation program the counseling center is doing, and I believe a story about intramurals and McCain's stance on college-related issues (remember we already ran one about Obama's).

So did you all watch the VP debate Thursday? What did you think?? Comment and let me know...

gaffes and laughs

Hey everyone!

So, today's Herald, I do believe, has some pretty interesting stuff. There's a story about the SGA's plans to convert the Fitness Club into a 24-hour computer lab after the new Rec center is built and to put speed bumps/stop signs in the NPQ parking lot. They passed the resolutions, so now they lie in the hands of the administration, mainly Potts.

There's also a story about Jessica McCain... who knew we had one of John McCain's relatives right here at ASU!

Speaking of the election, remember tonight is the VP debate between Palin and Biden.

(and for a side note, I'll just reiterate how tired I am of the media pouncing on Palin and conveniently overlooking all the absurd things Biden says, of which there are plenty.

See...


I just want you to get all sides :)

debates, polls and YouTube

Howdy folks,

So, what did you all think of the debate Friday between McCain and Obama?

We're running an opinion piece today by a senior radio/tv major who still hasn't made up his mind about who he's voting for. He gives his thoughts and opinions in today's paper about how he thought the debate went. Be sure to check it out.

Here's the full video of the debate if you didn't get to see it.


The vice presidential debate between Sarah Palin and Joe Biden is Thursday night. Our "independent thinker" will be writing his opinion on that as well in Monday's paper.

We at The Herald are also working on a survey, which we plan to distribute to the student body soon so YOU can tell US who you plan on voting for and why. So be looking out for that!

Do you still have any unanswered questions about this year's election or about the candidates? Let us know if there is an angle we need to cover!

To debate, or not to debate... that is the question

Hello all!

So, in case you haven't heard, there may or may not be a presidential debate tomorrow night. The first of the debates between John McCain and Barack Obama is scheduled for tomorrow night at Ole Miss. (side note: I tried to get a press pass, but I asked just after the deadline :P) Anyway, now John McCain has requested to postpone the debate until congress can pass an economic bailout plan. He's gone back to Washington to help work on that and has suspended his campaign in the meantime. Obama, on the other hand, is doing just the opposite-- launching new TV ads and pushing for the debate to go on.

Today's Herald (which will come out around 4 p.m.) includes an article in the Fast Feed from the Daily Mississippian, the student newspaper from Ole Miss. According to the article, Ole Miss's chancellor said they are continuing to prepare for the debate as planned. He said he has not been contacted by the McCain or Obama campaign, and until that happens, plans are moving forward.

Some are saying the debate should happen, but the candidates should discuss the economy, not foreign policy as was planned.

What do you think? Should the debate happen? Should they postpone until Congress figures out a plan to solve the financial crisis? Should they debate the economy instead of foreign policy?

blah blah monday...

It's only Monday, but it sure doesn't feel like I just had a weekend. I definitely could use another one. I could use sleep period... and food. But I haven't had time to get either.

Anyway, Dirk Halstead is speaking tonight as the first speaker in this year's lecture-concert series. He's a photojournalist from TIME magazine, which is pretty cool. (It's at 7 in the Student Union auditorium)For more info, go here.

By the way, our new Herald Web site is getting closer to being a reality... We should have a test site up soon. Get excited :)

Homecoming week...winding down

So, it's finally the weekend! I hope you're all planning on going to the Homecoming game tomorrow and watching ASU pick themselves up after last week's heartbreaker.

So,what's been your favorite part of Homecoming week so far? 94 percent of the people who voted on our Web site said it's the sorority step-show! To vote, click here.

And speaking of step-show, I took along a video camera and was totally planning on putting the highlights up online, and after the second performance, my battery died :( So, I'm really sorry, but I can't put up just two performances and not all four.

In case you're wondering though...

AOPi won first place
AGD got second
Chi O got third, and
DZ got fourth

Also, the AKA's did a halftime performance, which was really good.

Anyway, for those of you who are seniors like me, I hope you're soaking up every last activity from Homecoming week you can -- whether it's step-show, tail-gating or just cheering your heart out at the game! We may never have these chances again!

Constitution Day: actually worth attending

Hello Readers!

Well, it's Homecoming week! Visit this link for a full listing of all the events going on!

Wednesday night I'm going to video the stepshow and put it on The Herald site, so if you can't be there that night, you can see the highlights online!

Also, this Wednesday is Constitution Day here at ASU. And although that sounds incredibly boring, I think it is actually going to be pretty interesting this year. It's all about the presidential election and what issues are going to be important. The event kicks off at 9 a.m. in Centennial Hall on the third floor of the Union. Julie Barko Germany, director of the Institute for Politics, Democracy, and the Internet at George Washington University, is the keynote speaker.

The session I'm looking forward to is at 11 a.m. in the Student Union auditorium. Representatives from the Obama campaign and from the McCain campaign will be there to discuss issues that could possibly determine the outcome of the presidential election.

For more information on Constitution Day, go here

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!

I am absolutely blown away right now. I'm watching (recorded) the second part of Charlie Gibson's interview with Sarah Palin. I have NEVER seen anything so BIASED in my entire life! He is absolutely on the ATTACK!! I can't believe he is supposed to be a journalist. He's giving her these "go to Hades" looks and just digging at her as much as possible. Is this supposed to be an interview so we can learn more about Sarah Palin? or is this- let's see how much we can rake her, so we can stop this lead John McCain is getting in the polls! I am absolutely disgusted with Charlie Gibson and ABC for running this ridiculous excuse for journalism. I honestly don't know how Sarah Palin kept a smile on her face through these two days of SOLID ATTACKS! Every SINGLE question Gibson has asked her has been in the ATTACK form. Again, I'm disgusted!

Palin mania

Oh my goodness! It's unbelievable how much media attention Sarah Palin is getting! Now, I haven't had time to watch too much news, but every single time I flick the TV on, guess who they're talking about!

Last night CNN played this special, "Sarah Palin's Faith," and all they talked about was the church she went to, her pastor, etc. Today, when I was standing in line at Wal Mart, I saw her face on magazines with headlines like "Five children, lies & scandal." This is ridiculous! The poor woman is being ridiculed for having five children. I read a blogger the other day who was criticizing her saying, "If she would have only used birth control, she wouldn't have had a baby with down's syndrome!" Can you believe that?? It's absolutely ridiculous the way the media is attacking her... When asked if Palin being elected would be a step forward for women, Joy Behar said on Larry King that it would actually be "a step backwards for women." Riiiiight...

I personally fell in love with Sarah Palin while watching her speech at the RNC, as did millions around the country. (notice John McCain's poll numbers are rising...)If you haven't seen her speech, you need to get online and watch it. She's quite the fire-cracker :)

is it really only the third week?

Issue #3 is on the stands. I can't believe it's only the third week of school and we've only put out three papers... I'm waaaay too tired for that. Right now, I just want to go to sleep, but I have so much I need to do tonight. I'm just wondering when the production night is gonna come that I actually get out before 2 a.m. Hopefully soon.

Anyway, I hope you all are enjoying The Herald. Keep on reading... print and blogs. I might be half-asleep, but I'll keep puttin' stuff out there, so I hope someone is reading it.

Coming up Thursday we'll have a Homecoming preview, so be looking for that to find out what activities are going on next week. Arts & Features will also be back on Thursday. Need to know how to handle issues with your roommate? Read A&F Thursday to find out.

Until next time...

new blogs...more tears

So, hopefully by now, you all have picked up issue #2! If not, go pick it up; it's on news stands all over campus! :) And also, if you haven't noticed, we've added two new blogs to our site! "The Goods on Entertainment" is an entertainment blog focused mostly on TV and video games, and "Campus Catalists," which is a blog with various lists of things you need to know!

So... one of my classmates...(Hunter West)...kindly pointed out to me today that John McCain's audience last night was just as weepy as those of Obama's. And I had to admit, he was basically right. So maybe Democrats aren't the only ones overly passionate about their candidate... I still think it's silly. But, in defense of the Republicans, (as I shared with Hunter), John McCain does have a very moving story about being a POW for five or so years. So maybe the tears are a bit more understandable in his case.

And I STILL haven't gotten to watch Sarah Palin's speech... which I'm very anxious to do. I heard it was really good. I plan on watching it this wknd... I'll let you know what I think.

Until then, everyone have a fabulous weekend!

Go Red Wolves!

night number two is well underway

Well, I'm right in the middle of my second production night ever. Paper number two comes out tomorrow! So far, so good tonight. I'm a lot farther a long than I was at this time last Wednesday. And also making the night a little more enjoyable is this gigantic bag of candy I bought. Steady tootsie rolls are keeping me going. The only thing wrong with tonight is... you guessed it-- I'm missing the Republican National Convention! Sarah Palin is speaking tonight, and we STILL don't have our TV installed in the Herald. Come on maintenance! Anyway, it's ok. I'm recording it at home and'll just watch it tomorrow.

Anyway, I gotta get back to work! Be sure and check out the paper tomorrow afternoon. Our news story on the increase in international students didn't come in, but we are running a feature story on one of our students from Saudi Arabia and a lot of other cool stuff. Also on our Arts & Features page, we're running coverage of a performance by a local band, the Speedy Thieves. Be sure & check it out!

more on the way

We at The Herald hope you all have been enjoying our new blogs! And from our site statistics, it appears that you have! Inside 224 is the most read element on our site! Thanks for reading! Keep coming back for fresh, continuous updates. And be looking out for more blogs on the way! Over the past few days, I have had other staff members interested in keeping blogs on various subjects, and we are looking to expand our blogosphere to include even more, wide-ranging subjects. Do you have a good idea for a blog for our site? Leave me a comment and let me know!

Until next time, have a great Labor Day, and be praying for those potentially affected by Gustav...

snap out of it!

So, there it was... Barack Obama's "historic" speech. (his acceptance speech of the Democratic party's nomination). For the first ten minutes or so, I couldn't stop rolling my eyes and leaving the room. It was the same "inspirational, change we can believe in" rhetoric we've heard all year. Then, finally, after 18 or so months, he started talking about specific plans for what he would do as president. I must admit, it was a powerful speech. (not powerful enough to persuade me, but powerful nonetheless). He also refuted every attack John McCain and the Republicans have and are planning to make against him, not that his refutations were actually substantial but they'll definitely satisfy anyone who doesn't dig deeper.
But the most striking thing to me about his speech, was the audience! I almost couldn't believe my eyes. These people were literally crying. They stared at him so completely mesmerized that it was laughable. I just wanted to snap my fingers in front of them and remind them it's only a political campaign! Women were literally raising their arms towards Heaven as if God had just sent them some kind of divine gift. And then, to top it off, they played the sappy music from the end of "Remember the Titans." I was suddenly confused if I was watching a political convention or some sort of nation-wide revival service.... Come on people, snap out of it!

It's here!

The first issue of The Herald is officially out! Pick one up almost anywhere on campus or visit our Web site. And, I was right... seeing the finished product in print almost made me forget about the sleepless night I spent working on it :)
Now, it's on to the next issue! Since we are out of school Monday for Labor Day, the next issue will be next Thursday, Sept. 4. We're working on a story about the growing International population at ASU, the expanding language department, the new Sigma Pi Fraternity House, and a lot more. Also, our first Arts&Features page of the semester will be in next Thursday's issue, so be looking out for that!

Whew!

Well, the first issue is at the press! I must admit, I think I got broken in really quickly. I was here at the Herald until almost three this morning, went home, slept for three hours and came back to finish. But it's finally done, and I think when I see the printed version, it will be well worth it. And, I think the first issue looks pretty good (for a brand new editor and all)... then again, I had a lot of help. Ms. Thrasher graciously stayed at the Herald with me until two something and gave me lots of good advice. Meghan and Sam did a great job on their pages as well (opinions & sports). Everyone needs to go check out Meghan's new blog "eco-logically sound." And of course, pick up a paper this afternoon! It's on 26 newstands campus-wide! :)

p.s. somebody fill me in on the convention last night...I missed allllllll of it. (our TV is not installed yet)

michelle obama's speech

Well, I thought her speech started kind of slow, but she finally built some momentum. She tried again to counteract her previous statements about "never before being proud of her country" by tonight saying the "reasons why she loves her country." That got a big round of applause.

Right now, the Obamas' daughters are talking to their dad via satellite. I must admit, they're really cute. Anyway, I don't think it was the best first night ever for a convention. Yet, I see plenty of democrats in the crowd wiping tears. I always think that's a little silly... Democrat or Republican.

a day of firsts

Today, we had our first full staff meeting for The Herald. It went well. We've pretty much got everything set for issue number one. We'll run a story with building updates for all the new buildings on campus, a preview of SGA President Ryan Beaird's plans for the semester, first football game preview, and a lot more. Also, our opinions editor Meghan Allen has decided to write an environmental issues blog, which will also be linked to our site.

Right now... I'm sitting here watching the first night of the Democratic National Convention. Michelle Obama's brother just introduced her and she is about to speak. So far, the convention has been pretty dull. (Even CNN's analysts said so). But I'm sure Michelle's speech will get everyone riled up.... I'll blog more later

and tomorrow... it begins

So, classes begin in the morning. This weekend has actually gotten me semi-pumped about it though. Everyone I love is back on campus, which is a lot of fun, and for now, I'm kind of looking forward to things. We had our first Herald editors' meeting today, & I think it went well. Cecily is planning to do some arts & features type videos, which should be cool, so be looking out for that at asuherald.com And, our sports editor, Sam Pierce is keeping a "Sports Related" blog, which you should also check out.

In other news, the Democratic National Convention starts tomorrow, for those of you who care. Michelle Obama will speak tomorrow night and I think Nancy Pelosi. (For the record, I'm voting for McCain) but I'm a political junkie and will probably watch every night of the DNC's convention this week. I'm excited because we're getting a TV in the Herald office this semester! :) So, I won't miss anything even on late nights at the Herald. Speaking of politics... Do you have a strong opinion about one or both of the candidates? Send us your opinion piece and we'll publish it in the Herald. Mail our opinions editor at meghan.allen@smail.astate.edu

Just 3 more days

Only 3 more days of summer left and then it's back to school, back to business, and back to the Herald. Well, actually I'm in my Herald office right now and have been for the past few days trying to get stuff ready. I still have a lot to do in these last 3 days... so it's kind of like summer is already over. Yesterday I interviewed Ryan Beaird, the new SGA Pres., Quan Poole, the VP, and Kyle Fulton, SGA PR Director. They have a lot of great ideas for the upcoming year. I'll have an article with all their plans and ideas in the first issue of the Herald, which by the way, comes out next Thursday, Aug. 28.