Letter from the Editors: Vol. 269 begins

Dear Readers,

Today marks the beginning of the 269th published volume of The Stanford Daily. Our names are George, Amina and Anna, and we’ll be serving as the Editor-in-Chief and Executive Editors of this volume, respectively. Over countless edits, interviews and late nights, belonging to The Daily has been a deeply meaningful part of our time at Stanford, and we could not be more honored to lead it for the next six months.

We’re especially lucky to be taking the reins from Editor-in-Chief Greta Reich and Executive Editors Lauren Koong and Ananya Udaygiri, who have worked tirelessly over the past year to build up The Daily and its community.

We hope to sustain that momentum by focusing on a few key areas. First, we are committed to publishing ambitious investigations and reported features that only Stanford student journalists could produce. We know that Stanford and the wider Bay Area are rich with untold stories, and we aim to report them fearlessly and accurately. As students embedded within a leading institution, we are uniquely positioned to chase leads that others cannot or will not pursue. Your tips are welcome here.

Next, The Daily has a long history of adapting to technological change. In 1995, it became one of the first student papers to publish on the internet. This year, as AI tools continue to shape media and technology, we are working to develop ethical and transparent guidelines on its use (or non-use) in our newsroom.

Given that a growing share of Americans receive their news through social media, we are also eager to expand The Daily’s digital strategy, including through vertical videos featuring our staff and their work.

Finally, we will continue The Daily’s ongoing lawsuit against the federal government to protect our paper’s ability to publish the reporting and perspectives of international students, represented by the Foundation for Individual Rights and Expression (FIRE). 

We maintain that the government’s enforcement of immigration law has negatively affected international students’ ability to participate in Daily reporting by creating fears of deportation and visa revocations. We see the lawsuit as an unfortunate yet necessary measure to uphold our paper’s ability to cover the Stanford community. When student journalists fear retaliation for doing their jobs, democracy suffers as a whole.

In pursuing our mission to provide the Stanford community with relevant journalism and create educational opportunities for staff, we’ll be working closely with The Daily’s incoming masthead of editors and operational leaders. Each of them brings talent, fresh ideas and a passion for The Daily’s work, and we feel profoundly lucky to have them on our team. We’ll also be launching another recruitment push this winter to engage new contributors.

Here’s a little more about us:

George is a junior from New York, New York studying history. Since joining The Daily in his first quarter at Stanford, he has served as a News Managing Editor, University News Desk Editor and President and Provost beat reporter, primarily reporting on university governance and conflicts in higher education. His other passions include acting and English breakfast tea.

Amina is a senior from Dayton, Ohio studying international relations and South Asian studies. While attending Stanford, Amina has served as a beat reporter, Academics and Campus Life Desk Editor and News Managing Editor. Her hobbies include long-distance running and making lattes.

Anna is a junior from San Jose, Calif., studying electrical engineering and computer science. Prior to becoming executive editor, she worked as a News Managing Editor, University News Desk Editor and Title IX beat reporter. Her favorite pastime is making matcha at her dorm room desk.

We look forward to hearing from you and the volume ahead.

Sincerely,

George Porteous ’27

Amina Wase ’26

Anna Yang ’27

The post Letter from the Editors: Vol. 269 begins appeared first on The Stanford Daily.