Waverly Hart
Editor in Chief
The Wooster Voice has announced its senior editorial staff for the 2020-21 academic year. Chloe Burdette ’21 and Samuel Casey ’21 have been named as next year’s editors in chief by Waverly Hart ’20 and Desi LaPoole ’20 who currently occupy the leadership positions, as well as Chief Copy Editor Eleanor Linafelt ’20. Burdette and Casey will lead the 14-person editorial staff, as well as a group of copy editors, writers and photographers.
Burdette and Casey will work closely alongside next year’s managing editors, Megan Tuennerman ’22 for the fall semester and Amber Rush ’22 for the spring semester. The first step for the senior editors will be conducting interviews and selecting next year’s editorial board.
All four students have served the Voice in numerous ways the past few years. Casey has served as news editor for three semesters, and is excited to work on the Voice as editor in chief.
“I am beyond honored to be chosen for one of the two editor in chief positions,” said Casey. “I remember my first year when I excitedly grabbed a copy of the Voice before heading to lunch every Friday; I would read it cover to cover, so this comes full circle for me. I was nervous to get involved at first, but I was persuaded by Maha Rashid ’19 and Mackenzie Clark ’19 and never looked back.”
Something Casey wants to focus on next year is connecting writers, editors and the general campus.
“We still want to hear feedback from everyone on the editorial staff, but one idea I have is building the relationship with writers and editors,” said Casey. It can be intimidating at first to start writing for a college newspaper, especially if you don’t have previous experience; so, I think it would be really cool to have a workshop at the beginning of the year to help new writers understand each section and AP style. I can’t wait to hear about any other ideas we could implement and to start interviews for our staff (read: family) next year.”
Burdette worked as sports editor her sophomore year, before stepping into the role of managing editor during the 2019-20 academic year. Burdette shared why she is passionate about the Voice and her leadership role.
“I am passionate about the Voice because journalism is something I want to focus on after Wooster,” Burdette stated. “The Voice might look like a small, student-run newspaper, but it is so much more than that. The relationships I have made with other students who are as passionate about journalism as I am is inspiring, and working together to put an issue out every week is extremely rewarding.”
Tuennerman, current arts & entertainment editor, shared what she thinks the Voice’s role is on campus.
“The Voice provides an important network of communication on campus and I feel pride in having an impact directly on that,” Tuennerman stated. “The students that I am lucky enough to be on staff with are some of the most dedicated and fun people I know.”
In addition to the Voice serving an important role on campus, Tuennerman genuinely enjoys spending time with Voice staff.
“It is always funny, I tell my friends that I am at the Voice office all night on Tuesdays and they say, ‘Oh man, I’m sorry,’ but I really look forward to Tuesday nights. We do work, we laugh and I have learned so much,” Tuennerman stated.
Rush, currently a viewpoints editor for the Voice, detailed her goals when she steps into the role of managing editor.
“As managing editor, I am excited to continue facilitating conversations between students, faculty and staff,” stated Rush. “I want everyone on campus to feel they have a place in the Voice.”
Tuennerman echoed this statement, saying, “As managing editor I want to work to expand who contributes pieces to the Voice. We have such a diverse campus, and I want to ensure that the Voice reflects that not only in the topics that we cover, but with who writes them as well.”
Burdette and Casey are excited to continue a student-run publication that has been around since 1883.
“I see how powerful the Voice is within the College community, and I am so eager to keep producing quality articles to keep students updated on College and city events,” Burdette stated. “In this new leadership role, I am hoping to carry on the hard work that Desi and Waverly have done this year. This is a team effort, and I hope that everyone on staff moving forward will put forth that effort.”