Being a part of a publication on a campus as large as Grand Valley State University is a commitment, as each week that we publish content, we have to decide whether or not we are representing the community to the best of our ability. This year was no different. 

With a majority of our editorial staff finishing out their final semesters, this paper will look a lot different next fall. As many of us are graduating, this is a farewell to GVSU, the Grand Valley Lanthorn and the community we’ve served for the past few years.

For those of us who will continue the paper next semester, our paper will take on a new form. While still providing new content on our website each week, we will shift the print edition to a bi-weekly schedule. The newspaper stands located throughout campus will still ornament the newest print edition of The Lanthorn and will continue to remind the community of the access they have to our work online. 

These changes will not take away from any of the coverage The Lanthorn does, or our ability to cover the same amount of stories each week. The bottom line is printing is expensive. Through implementing these adjustments we’re hoping to continue to provide readers access to new information regarding local and campus-wide news in a way that is more sustainable for us.

The paper is still going to cover the community and continue to serve GVSU, just in a new way. While change is scary, it’s also a good thing. We believe that making this switch will allow us to create more in-depth coverage. Readers can expect to see more timely coverage online, every week. 

The Lanthorn has undergone many changes since it was created in 1963. Early in Lanthorn history, the newspaper’s name changed from The Keystone in 1966 and The Valley View in 1968 before finally settling on The Grand Valley Lanthorn. Distribution also switched from twice a week publication to once a week, and now bi-weekly. 

Printing every week puts deadlines on stories, limiting the amount of time spent on each story. Having an additional week in between each printed version of the paper, our writers will have more time to cover stories in more in-depth ways. 

Undergoing change is normal. It helps keep content fresh and interesting, which is what we’re hoping to do with these format changes. While a lot of publications have been, over the past few years, transitioning to online-only format due to expenses and viewership issues, we’ll continue to publish in print every other week. 

While this is the end of an era for the paper, it’s not the end of The Lanthorn. The paper will continue to adapt and change to help serve the community in the best way possible.