Dear Reader,
It’s been a year of independent student-run press at Cardozo, and I think it’s worth dedicating an editorial to acknowledging what The Cardozo Jurist has done in the past year and sharing with you where we hope to take the newspaper next year.
The first issue of the Jurist came out in April 2008. In it, the editors set out a mission of what they considered to be the purpose of the newspaper: the Jurist was conceived as a forum that would offer a more relaxed format than a journal and would be accessible to anyone in the Cardozo community to write and discuss ideas affecting them and the community. I think the Jurist has fulfilled this part of its mission as an outlet for community members to offer their ideas in the public sphere. I believe it has also maintained a high level of journalistic quality while openly soliciting and publishing the work of many community members on varied issues.
The Cardozo Jurist was also founded with a mission to serve as a vehicle for community members to give form and attention to their grievances and, most importantly, to give students a way to become involved in the often elusive discussion of the direction and priorities of the school. Since its first issue, the Jurist has featured investigative articles, which have responsibly explored the quirks, flaws, and successes of our school and community. The Jurist has been an unwavering proponent of transparency in school governance, and its calls for more open processes from the school and the Student Bar Association have been met with positive results.
One area where I think we can improve, however, is to work more effectively with the SBA. Although it’s undeniably part of the paper’s job to scrutinize the SBA, I would like to see better relations between these two institutions. A good rapport with the SBA could only improve this newspaper. The work of the SBA affects the entire Cardozo community and a student-run newspaper is deficient if it is not fairly and thoroughly reporting on the activities of the SBA.
Another area that we are excited to improve upon next year is our website. Currently, CardozoJurist.com includes all of the content published in the print edition in a blog format where anyone can post comments on articles or add new items. It also includes a number of other items, such as a school-wide Google-based calendar to easily display all student group activities in one place. However, the website has the potential to do much more, and to be a useful tool, not only for current students, faculty, and administrators, but as a means for reaching out to alumni and beyond. We have many exciting plans for promoting the website that we hope will enlarge the scope and reach of our forum.
I encourage you to chime in and tell us what you’d like to see in these pages. The project of the Jurist is for naught unless we are offering readers something they want. The staff has plenty more ideas on how the Jurist can be a more complete service to the community, but we would prefer to get ideas and feedback from readers. Indeed, this paper’s fullest potential will only be achieved if those we aim to represent and to reach are pleased with its quality and content.
In spirit, The Cardozo Jurist is an instrument of public service: where a couple dozen students and other community members pool their talents and interests to create a timely and meaningful reflection of our collective experience. I speak for the entire staff in saying that we are interested in doing more and growing the Jurist so that it can better serve you, the readers.
Glen Parker, 2L
Associate Editor