I know that writing a letter isn’t the first thing I think of when something gets me riled up or when I notice something good happening. Some people might prefer to post on anonymous sites. Sometimes ruminating on an event or conversation ends up as thoughts that fade away without any discussion taking place.
Letters to the editor have been apart of newspapers in the United States since the early 18th century. Essays sent in like Letters from a Farmer in Pennsylvania discussed the role of government, personal freedoms and other pertinent topics. Today many newspapers still run letters to the editor under opinion or editorial columns. Larger publications may only publish snippets of a variety of letters to the editor that they receive.
The Branding Iron is assuredly a smaller publication and we will strive to publish as many of the letters to the editor as we can. The Branding Iron is primarily a campus paper but we welcome letters from anyone who reads the publication.
For those who read the Branding Iron in print or online, we appreciate feedback. If there’s something you don’t agree with, feel free to tell us. If something happened on campus and we didn’t cover it, let us know your thoughts on the situation. The Branding Iron newspaper is here to bring you news as well as create a dialogue with students and other members of the UW community.
We do ask that those who write to our publication do so with a way to contact them about printing their writing. Letters regarding opinion pieces, features and news coverage are welcome. Those who would like to have their thoughts or opinions published anonymously will need to specify that preference to whichever member of the Branding Iron team they have contact with. Letters may be edited for conciseness and clarity.
Members of the UW community are also encouraged to submit news stories to be featured in the paper as well. These pieces cannot be published anonymously. Since space in the print edition is limited not all news pieces may be printed.
All letters to the editor and submitted news pieces in the paper will also be published in the online Branding Iron. If there is not enough room to put an item in the print edition it may be published exclusively online.
While it may not be a grand gesture to solve huge problems, a letter to the editor helps the community consider more of what’s happening and what people think.
