Hilltop Views is marking its 40th volume this semester, and it’s a milestone we want to note. Over the decades, since our first issue on February 16, 1987, a lot of hard work has gone into this paper. You may notice that 1987 was not 40 years or 40 semesters ago. Over the years, volumes were sometimes counted as semesters and sometimes as entire academic years, throwing off the count.

We are in our 29th year as Hilltop Views. But we have had many names over the last 130 years, after first being published in the late 1880s. The student newspaper has come in many forms over that time, but has always been published, with the exception of during World War II.

In a Hilltop Views editorial, in our first edition in 1987, was this: what is the purpose and function of a student newspaper in the context of a university community?

Our purpose is simple. It’s to inform the St. Edward’s University community, give our readers the information that’s important and accurate and to do that in a professional manner. We are not perfect, but we try our hardest on every story, to get it right and to fulfill our purpose.

Here’s to a great school year.

Jacob Rogers

Print Editor-in-Chief

Hilltop Views Media Policy: Added to the St. Edward’s University student code of conduct in 2015.

Hilltop Views is the student newspaper and website published by student journalists in the School of Humanities and serving the community of St. Edward’s University. The opinions expressed in the print and online editions are not necessarily those of the University, or of the student body as a whole.

St. Edward’s values Hilltop Views as a way of fostering discussion and intellectual inquiry across the campus community. Hilltop Views can make faculty, staff and administration aware of student concerns and help students better understand the roles all members the community play in their educational experience.

The University administration does not censor Hilltop Views or conduct prior review of print or digital content. The role of the faculty adviser for Hilltop Views is to guide students as they learn professional practices. The faculty adviser does not censor content or conduct prior review.

Editors, reporters and managers of Hilltop Views may not be arbitrarily suspended or removed because of student, faculty or administrative disapproval of editorial content or policy. Student journalists at Hilltop Views are required to comply with the publication’s Ethics & Guidelines policies, posted on the publication’s website. Failure to do so may result in suspension or dismissal from the staff.