Letter from the Editor | Introducing the Daily Daily’s special issue on democracy

The 2024 elections have been called many things: momentous, crucial, controversial. But for many Stanford students, a different word refers to this election cycle: orientation.

For many students, the 2024 election will be the first and only presidential election during their time at university. This provides an important opportunity for students who fall into the age bracket least likely to vote to engage civically during an unprecedented election cycle.

This summer, we saw a historic election take shape, from the assassination attempts on Republican nominee and former President Donald Trump to President Joe Biden’s decision to withdraw from the race.

The elections also come at a time when journalism and journalists are under attack from all sides of the political spectrum, and disinformation spreads faster than ever. On our campus, a Daily reporter is currently facing potential disciplinary charges after he was arrested while covering a student protest – one of them many such cases against student journalists across the country over the past year.

Voting in this election is a civic duty and critical to the United States’ longevity as a democracy, say three Stanford deans he argued in the Daily edition.

However, democratic practice is not limited to participation in one election every four years. Instead, democracy is active, impacting students every day.

As members of The Daily, an independent, student-run newspaper serving Stanford and its surrounding community, we make it our mission to shed light on issues that profoundly impact our democracy. This includes protests in the wake of the Israel-Gaza war, students reported experiences with sexual misconduct, ongoing alumni relationship layouts, changes for studies admissions practices and student initiatives aimed at educating the public voting means AND postal voting.

In parallel, we supported our employees through training and ongoing discussions on how best to exercise our First Amendment rights. In these difficult times, we want to rise to the challenge of providing the community with high-quality, objective student journalism.

As you browse through this special issue on democracy, we urge you to find something in our community you didn’t know before. At the same time, we urge you to exercise your other democratic rights: vote, express your voice and support student journalism.

Linda Liu, editor-in-chief

Luc Alvarez and Itzel Luna, executive editors