Dear Readers,

Much of the campus community has heard by now that the bakery in Elsah was shut down after an FBI investigation and ensuing drug bust.  Correction:  This rumor was perversely absurd; the bakery closed due to lease issues. You see, this is Elsah.  Our little village on the river is quiet and we’re pretty sure that’s a good thing. While some Principians may fantasize about witnessing a scene out of Hot Fuzz on Elsah’s sleepy streets, it’s just not going to happen (we sincerely hope this statement doesn’t come back and bite us). Principia’s issues tend to be a bit less dramatic and more thoughtful.

We’ve heard a few complaints that the Pilot is not covering certain issues or being censored by the administration.  Let us assure you that this is not the case. Important issues have been covered and will continue to be covered. However, we choose not to cover an issue when, upon examination, there is nothing there. While working on stories, we often run across and investigate rumors.  But the Pilot is not a tabloid. We verify our facts. That explains why there was no bakery exposé in our first issue and why our article on Campus Security doesn’t describe what kind of taser they use.  You also won’t be finding arrest reports in these pages, if that’s what you’re interested in.

While we are not affiliated with the Christian Science Monitor, we do like their motto:

“ . . . to injure no man, but to bless all mankind.”  In accordance with our mission, our staff strives to be as even-handed as possible and to support the true manifestation of man in our reporting.  This inclination does not mean we ignore facts, but it does help us discern what stories are ready to be covered and committed to print.

The Pilot should be a platform for our community to share news as well as to be a forum for opinions and creative content.  As a magazine, we’re covering fewer time-sensitive “newspaper stories” and including more features on campus issues, events and people. We encourage you to become a part of our effort by submitting a letter to the editor or some creative content.  The Pilot has been a platform for healthy discussions of issues in the past, and we’d like to continue that tradition.

If you are aware of an emerging issue or one we may have overlooked, we ask you to let us know. We need everyone’s help in making the Pilot a publication that serves our campus community in a timely and independent way – an endeavor in which we can all take pride. Our email address is principia.pilot@gmail.com and we would love to hear from you.

We hope that we’ve given you a clearer picture of what the Pilot is and what purpose we hope to serve in the community.  Please enjoy our second issue of the semester.

Sincerely,

Ken Baughman and Maija Baldauf