As we mark the 117th year of The Tulane Hullabaloo being the eyes and ears of the Tulane community, we are honored to be back in the basement of the Lavin-Bernick Center. Our newsroom is home to an eclectic group that very well may have never connected without a shared love of student journalism and media. 

As we have heard just about everyone say at some point in the past two years, it has been a truly unprecedented time. But, we are determined to provide our readership with the news and culture of the Tulane and New Orleans community. 

I am honored to be writing this as not only the Editor-in-Chief of this year, but also as the first Black editor of The Hullabaloo. Having this amazing honor to be the first Black anything, I am dedicated to ensuring The Hullabaloo publishes content that highlights marginalized voices and that is relevant to our community. These goals are integral to our core values that we work to uphold. 

Apart from the words in print, I also want to improve The Hullabaloo’s digital presence by strengthening our social media while putting our voice on platforms we have yet to explore and by collaborating with other media creators on and off campus.

I started at The Hullabaloo as a copy editor — the people you want to edit your essays before you turn them in. I then became the recruitment chair, in charge of bringing in new faces and voices to our paper. I then moved on to be the personnel director, in charge of fostering community and well-being among our members. Through these experiences, I feel prepared to lead the amazing humans that create our paper. The lessons learned through those positions humble me immensely and make me all the more grateful to call The Hullabaloo “home.”

Looking toward the future, I hope to see more Tulanians excited and passionate about being involved in student journalism. The ultimate goal is for The Hullabaloo to not simply survive, but thrive far past my time as Editor-in-Chief. I hope to see The Hullabaloo maintain and expand its ability to provide ethical, inclusive and beneficial information to the local community. The voices of all members of our readership ought to be heard and valued.