Dear readers,

The beginning of another year at the University is marked by events and traditions that are familiar to many of us. Soon the campus will come alive with students – new and returning alike – who are eager to fit into the University’s own little niche in Bowling Green’s community.

Hopefully this edition of The BG News can help students ease their way back into the semester. Our staff has worked to provide you with content that will do just that. Inside you can brush up on common University lingo with BG A to Z, browse Bowling Green’s nightlife and stay up-to-date with campus and city politics.

It may seem redundant for The BG News to put out a welcome edition every year – how much could change at the University over one summer?

There’s still the familiar hum of construction around campus, such as work on the future home of the College of Business. There’s also work taking place downtown to install a new natural gas line that is expected to be completed on Aug. 25, according to the city’s website.

Regardless of expected changes such as construction, an influx of new students is a rather large change. Each freshman class diversifies our campus community.

The BG News wants to be as welcoming as possible to new students. That goal extends past our content. BG Falcon Media will be holding a welcome event today that caters to new students.

At 7 p.m. there will be vendors inside the Kuhlin Center serving food that is a staple in Bowling Green. Two local bands – Discount Nostalgia and The American Spirits – are performing just outside Kuhlin.

It’s horribly cliché, but each student was a first-year at some point. If you’re a new student, take solace in that fact. The majority of returning students and faculty want to see you succeed. I hope the University is as inviting for you as it was for me.

This year, BG Falcon Media hopes to work together to better serve our readers, whether they are students, faculty, staff or community members. In my opinion, there’s no better way to do that than interacting with those who read the paper.

If you read The BG News, I thank you for supporting student journalism in a less-than-preferable media climate. The BG News has been lucky to have readers who understand that this is truly a student publication.

Twice a week, we get to produce our own print publication, which is exceedingly rare on college campuses.

We cannot thank you enough for that opportunity.

Thank you and welcome back!

— Stepha Poulin, Editor in Chief