Sanya Kamidi / Daily Nexus

Hello everyone!

My name is Hannah Jackson, and I am the new editor in chief of the Daily Nexus. (Wow, that feels really weird to actually write out.) I am very grateful for the opportunity to be writing this letter and introducing myself to you all.

My road to stepping into the editor in chief position was certainly an unconventional one. I was never that person who walked into the office on the first day of freshman year (or even on my tour of the school) and decided that one day I was going to run this place.

I came to my very first Opinion meeting with a friend during my freshman year on a whim and was very uninvolved in the Nexus. At the beginning of my second year, I managed to stumble into a position on the editorial staff, becoming one of the first two co-social media managers in the history of the paper. After that and up until now, I have served as one of the Opinion editors — a job that I have cherished dearly.

I am the third editor in chief that I know of to come from the Opinion section, and I am certain that it will have an impact on my leadership style.

Traditionally, most editors in chief hail from the News section (though this year our head honcho, the incomparable Jorge Mercado, came from Sports). Coming from Opinion does not mean that I will ignore the facts and be guided solely by my beliefs; in fact, I believe that News and Opinion are two of the sections of this newspaper that rely on a strong basis of facts to carry an argument.

My nontraditional road these past few years has allowed me to appreciate the multi-faceted beauty of the Nexus. Having written for five sections in my first two years, I have a unique understanding of this paper that not all former editors in chief can claim. I see all of these aspects as strengths coming into my position, and I am incredibly lucky to have a supportive staff of talented editors who will make this job even better.

I cannot, for even a moment, claim that I got here all on my own. I am lucky to have been nurtured and supported by my wonderful, gifted predecessors — Supriya Yelimeli, Maura Fox and Jorge Mercado — all of whom have shown me what an exemplary leader looks like. I would not be here today without the editors, colleagues and friends who have read draft after draft, spent hours making edits, created art and even just silently sat with me as I banged on my keyboard like a maniac.

At the beginning of my second year — the very same day I was hired for the Nexus editorial staff — one of my senior friends encouraged me to keep up my writing and to continue using my voice. Though at the time it seemed like an eye roll-inducing comment, he was ultimately right. Students who work for the Nexus have a responsibility to use their platform to speak for not only themselves, but also to amplify the voices of the marginalized, the voiceless and the underrepresented.

Though the Nexus of past decades had earned a reputation for being one-track minded, I am committed to helping make this newspaper a voice of diversity and inclusion. As my previous editors in chief maintained, all voices are welcome here.

If you ever find yourself under Storke Tower, please feel free to drop by. I am more than happy to answer any questions, hear any concerns or even just chat.

 

Hannah Jackson

eic@dailynexus.com

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Hannah Jackson
Hannah served as the Editor-in-Chief from 2019-2020 and was previously Social Media Manager and Opinion Editor. She is a dancer, an avid napper and has killed every succulent she ever owned.