Now, more than ever, it is important for student journalists at Coastal Carolina University to stick together. 

In honor of National Newspaper Week from Oct. 1-7 this year, I want to take a moment to recognize the work our journalists here at The Chanticleer do. Not only are they finding time between classes and busy schedules to write articles, but they do it voluntarily. 

We currently have 26 members that make up the staff of The Chanticleer. We had so many attend our pitch meeting for our third issue that we ran out of seats for everyone. To me, this is a good problem to have. 

A lot of the work student journalists do go unnoticed, for it is invisible to the reader. Behind these news stories are sending emails to multiple experts to set up interviews, crafting questions related to the topic, conducting the interviews, finding students to talk to, sitting for hours at a desk suffering from writer’s block, following AP Style, and the list goes on. 

As the editor-in-chief, nothing makes me happier than to see my peers be so dedicated to our publication and watch their writing grow. Working with our journalists during workshops to developing friendships with them makes my job worthwhile. 

However, it is one of my goals this year to push our members to dig deeper into what goes on around campus. 

Journalism is more than just covering carnivals and festivals in the area. It’s exposing corruption within institutions, covering crime in the area, and letting student voices be heard. Journalism creates conversations most people would rather not have. 

For those who are unaware, The Chanticleer is now the only publication without a faculty adviser at Coastal Carolina but will soon hire a staff member to oversee us. What you are reading now is the work of six women doing the best journalistic work we can, learning as we go. 

Student journalists can find a place in The Chanticleer to write, learn and grow. We are the student voice of CCU, and we must be heard.