Millikin students started classes, and our team of journalists began inspecting a puzzling question: How do we tell Millikin’s story with greater authenticity, depth, and scope than before?

The press must consider this critical question as we march further into the twenty-first century.

The situation is clear when we look around at each other: today’s students are working hard, fighting for what’s right, and conquering doubt. Students are battling racism – both blatant and systemic – by educating and sharing their cultures. They are fighting for LGBTQ+ rights. They are trying to save the environment. You name it.

There’s a jumbled mess of a unified story here: a generation of people who need to save the world is emerging. Today’s students must be heroes.

Again, how do we—a few young writers, photographers, and editors—distill this rising generation of heroes into words, photos, and videos?

Like many situations, there are multiple answers.

The Decaturian will continue to make real student experience part of its news. No matter what, we will report straight news. You, the reader, can count on the Decaturian to give you the facts so you can make well-informed decisions about issues.

We will also have more investigative and international reporting than ever before. A lot of issues affect our lives that we can’t see, either because they haven’t been unveiled or they are far away.

We will write features that capture substance, not tell a surface story.

The press can do a lot of damage when it spreads hype without context, misrepresents, or underrepresents. Historically, the press has played a key role in perpetuating ignorance, if not bigotry and racism, too.

A profound story can change entire mindsets—even national ones—just like a voice of reason can.

Our Views and Opinions section will give students a place to use their voice. We will share the voices we don’t always hear because that’s what journalists, as part of the hero generation themselves, must do.

Arts and Sports: they are a crucial element of almost every culture in the world. That’s true with Millikin, too. Not only do many of our students study within the Arts, students of all kinds create it. It is as creative and diverse as our people, and those two aspects are the social ingredients that communities use to solve major issues.

Sports provide our university with entertainment and a sense of pride, but our athletes also use team values in the classroom and community, too. Those values, we know, can help bring us all together.

This young generation has joined hands before and accomplished great things. Oftentimes they are small gestures like starting a student organization, which thousands do across the country every day. Other times, they are national events like holding an anti-violence protest.

It also breaks others’ expectation that we are the most isolated generation. We’re actually the most connected, but people don’t always see that.

We don’t always see that in ourselves—but it’s always there. Decaturian journalists see it every day.

So, we’re asking every student at Millikin to continue being the heroes they are and recognizing themselves more. We encourage students to be even more inclusive, even more open.

We don’t have time anymore to criticize, divide, and destroy. Now must be the time to embrace our differences as strengths. Then: save the world.

Together. The Heroes.