A botched sexual assault policy. An unconventional Commencement speaker. The U.S. News & World Report unranking scandal. Endorsements for student elections.

These campus issues matter. And as The Hatchet’s editorial board, we work to tell you why and how they can be addressed.

Allow us to introduce ourselves. The editorial board comprises various staff members at The Hatchet, including copy editors Robin Jones Kerr and Melanie Holec, design editor Jenna Bernick, design assistant Macy Morgan, visual director Nick Rice, director of internal affairs Allison Elfring, director of external affairs Josh Perlman, contributing opinions editor Jacob Garber and opinions editor Justin Peligri.

We meet twice a week to debate and discuss pressing campus concerns. And in each issue, our editorial becomes part of the dialogue.

Our goal is to educate the community about goings-on at the University, provide context and deliver a recommendation on what we think is the best course of action.

To be clear, the editorial board and opinions team is in no way associated with The Hatchet’s news operation. News editors and reporters are prohibited from participating in writing staff editorials or working as members of the editorial board.

And if an editorial board member has a conflict of interest with a specific editorial topic, he or she will sit out from our meeting. This ensures that our discussions are fair, and that involvements outside The Hatchet do not compromise our perception and accuracy.

You can tell which staffers sit in on which meetings based on the asterisks next to the names in the staff box at the bottom of the opinions page.

As Hatchet staff members, many of us spend nearly as much time in The Hatchet’s townhouse as we do in classrooms and our residence halls — but at the end of the day, we are all students. And as tuition-paying members of the GW community, we strive to represent the student voice and advocate for the student body’s collective well-being.

But just because you don’t work at the student newspaper doesn’t mean that your view should be ignored. Indeed, it should be championed.

Every member of the community has a responsibility to express his or her ideas on how to improve the University. We encourage anyone with thoughts about an ongoing campus debate — or about The Hatchet’s content specifically — to submit an op-ed or a letter to [email protected]. We welcome all opinions, and frequently publish well-researched and well-articulated letters from students, faculty and administrators.

Class of 2017, welcome to GW. Enjoy your time in college, make the most of all that the District has to offer and, most importantly, don’t keep your opinions to yourself.