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The Editorial Board is the independent body responsible for determining the position of the ‘Prince’ on matters that impact or affect Princeton and its campus community. We convene three times a week to brainstorm and discuss campus issues, take editorial positions and review draft editorials. While the board works with other departments of the newspaper to gather information about editorial topics, we deliberate behind closed doors and determine our own positions to preserve our objectivity. The board answers only to its chair, Jess Lanney ’10, the Executive Editor for Opinion, Ben Herzberg ’10, and the Editor-in-Chief, Matt Westmoreland ’10.

To enrich its discussions and editorials, the board has always sought to incorporate a variety of diverse perspectives. Current board members come to Princeton from across the country and reflect a broad spectrum of class years, majors, political philosophies and academic and extracurricular interests. What distinguishes and unifies all board members is an engagement in campus life and a commitment to investigating and discussing issues pertaining to the University community. We are committed to bringing compelling arguments and perspectives to this page, criticizing and praising in equal measure. In the past six months, the board has written about topics ranging from the Committee on Background and Opportunity survey to Princeton Proposition 8 and the Coalition for Academic Liberty to financial aid for upperclassmen in eating clubs. We try to recommend specific policy courses for the University to take that, we judge, are best for the community as a whole.

Debates among board members are often passionate and heated. While the board strives for unanimity, editorial positions are determined by majority vote and are written in turns by each of the members of the board. Under certain circumstances, a unified minority publishes a signed dissenting opinion. All majority opinions are the collective product of the board, acting as a group, and lend an independent voice apart from other sections of the ‘Prince.’

The core mission of the board is to inspire discussion and action. But this is impossible without a continual influx of students with unique perspectives, students who are independent thinkers, eager to debate and willing to engage with issues important to Princeton. In our applicants and members, we value creativity and strength of thought much more than journalistic experience. There are no prerequisites to membership on the board. If you would like to help bring critical insights both to this page and to campus discourse, we encourage you to request an application from opinion@dailyprincetonian.com, fill it out, and join us.