The Alligator is old.
No, seriously. We've been around for 102 years, and while that shows our dedication, it also leaves plenty of time for our organization to become out of touch with this time period and its Student Body.
The Alligator administration realizes the organization needs an update. It wants to do everything it can to reflect the readership it represents.
So we're reaching out to you.
We've created a new e-mail account (alligatorfeedback@gmail) so you can tell us how we can better this institution.
We want to hear your complaints, questions and concerns. What are we doing wrong? Are we boring you? Pissing you off? Missing interesting stories?
We won't know what to change if you don't cue us in.
Tell us what you love and hate about the paper or the Web site.
If you think we need a redesign or a daily Sudoku, let us know.
Are there areas of coverage we haven't been representing? We're begging you to tell us.
This is your newspaper. Without its readership, the Alligator is absolutely nothing.
You are the source of our stories. You write the letters to the editor.
If we're doing something right, tell us to keep doing it. We're here to serve you.
I will read every suggestion, no matter how mean, nice, complex or simple it is.
I can handle it, and so can the staff.
Honestly, the Alligator needs a reality check.
Over the past few semesters, our staff has been dwindling. There are a few impassioned people determined to continue delivering your news, but we want to get off our high horses and ensure that you're getting what you need.
Most Alligator staffers spend a minimum of 40 hours a week working for (much) less than minimum wage.
While you're watching the Bucs on Sunday afternoons, Alligator staffers are confined to their desks toiling away writing and editing all those Board of Trustees and City Commission stories you flip through Monday in your tedious 8:30 a.m. class.
But we still love what we do.
Yes, loving these stories is super nerdy, but we're students, too. We're learning.
In this instance, you're the teacher.
What we learn as students at the Alligator, we'll take with us to the jobs we'll (hopefully) have one day at professional newspapers.
And no matter what you've heard, we're not as proud and aloof as you think.
And while I'm at it, we're also not all Caucasian hipsters.
We represent different races, musical tastes, and religious and political beliefs.
Believe it or not, but we even have a frat guy on the Editorial Board. Try and figure that one out.
So please, shoot us an e-mail at alligatorfeedback@gmail.com
Jessica DaSilva is a journalism and political science senior. She is editor-in-chief of the Alligator.
