Three years ago we never would have thought that we would be where we are today. As ninth graders, John was wallowing in the spectacular failure of his first article as a sports reporter for the Bi-Line, and Katie hadn’t even joined the staff, although she had been putting out some hard-hitting pieces in the eighth grade newspaper, The Wildcat Press X-Press. Since then, a lot has changed. We’ve written and edited more articles than we can count. We’ve learned the true terror of Adobe Indesign. We’ve had M&M eating contests when we were supposed to be laying out pages. We’ve argued endlessly over capitalization rules. These experiences have shaped who we are today as the leaders of the largest news publication on campus with a staff of 48 students. Believe me, we’re just as surprised as the rest of you. In all seriousness, we are honored to be the 2016-2017 Head Editors. We have the utmost confidence in our staff and are so proud of all of the editors, reporters, photographers, and columnists who put in time and effort to make this September issue happen. It is certainly a daunting task, being in charge of the Bi-Line. The legacy left behind by Laura Street and Catherine Benedict is one of excellence, and we hope to uphold the same standards throughout all eight issues of this coming school year.

Throughout these past three years and many before them, the world has been in a state of constant change and controversy, and the Bi-Line has been there to cover it all. Just last year, under the leadership of Catherine and Laura, the Bi-Line increased coverage on some of the world’s most controversial topics and how they related to life at Westminster. Current junior Phoebe Liu covered the November 2015 Paris terrorist attacks and students’ reactions to them, while current senior Cartie Werthman reported on the opinions of the Westminster student body regarding the first caucuses of the most cutthroat presidential elections of all time.

While the improvements made to the Bi-Line last year were excellent, this year we do not want to work complacently. We want to continue to expand upon the progress made in past years and increase the significance of the Bi-Line as a publication by reporting to you not only the news of Westminster but also how national and international news affects Westminster’s students and faculty. Furthermore, our foremost goal is to make the Bi-Line something interesting and enjoyable to all of you, so that our publication can bring you both knowledge and happiness in whatever way possible.

The Bi-Line has always been the voice of Westminster students since its founding in 1963. This year, we want to hear your voices and are encouraging more guest columnists to write pieces for the newspaper. Whether your piece is about your opinions on the election, your thoughts on a recent assembly, or maybe your Top 10 albums of all time, we encourage you to have them published. The Bi-Line truly is a newspaper for the students, from the students. If you are interested in being a guest columnist at any time this year, contact us at [email protected] or [email protected]. We would love to hear your opinions!

This year we are hoping to continue the tradition of excellence that the Bi-Line has upheld for 53 years. We are branching out, writing articles on topics you want to read about and events outside of Westminster that affect our community. We hope you will continue to enjoy the Bi-Line, and encourage you to be just as excited about the coming year as we are.