At this year’s family Christmas gathering, an uncle asked me if I believed a peaceful, bilateral solution in the Middle East remained possible.

I was a bit taken aback. Not because it was a strange question or because I hadn’t expected him, a high school history teacher, to pose it, but because no one had directly asked for my opinion on current events in a long time.

At Wesleyan, we read what others think and debate their thoughts. Whole classes exist to explore religion through zombies or Asian American posthumanism in academic forums, but rarely do we turn to each other and ask “What do you think about Nikki Haley?” or “Should we all be vegetarian?” We seem to learn about the world without frequently engaging each other in our own critical opinions.

The Editorial Board, I hope, is the platform to ask and discuss those questions. At many major newspapers, editorial boards serve to provide institutional perspective on the current news or opinion trends of the day. My vision for the Argus’ Board, however, would not explicitly reflect the views of the paper, but rather, the discussions and arguments of a group of Wesleyan students who collectively write a topical weekly (maybe every other weekly) column.

My hope is that this Board will promote campus-wide dialogue and become a quality source of argument for everyday conversations. I also think this will be quite a bit of fun. As a by-application group, the agreeing majority would publish under “The Editorial Board.” The group would meet regularly to discuss and refine an argument for publication.

A final note that I hope this Board does not become an overly serious or time-intensive endeavor. Just as some column topics should reflect meaningfully on current events, others should aim to provide levity and a good laugh. This forum does not need to replicate The Arcadia Political Review or MSNBC. Think NPR, not CNN.

Please send your questions, comments, and application by Sunday, Feb. 11 at 10pm to trlyons@wesleyan.edu.

The Details: Due to the collaborative nature of the Board, the number of authors must be limited. Please include the following in your email (again, by Feb. 11 at 10pm):

1. What do you do on campus? An ideal Board includes a diverse group of perspectives. Also, feel free to go past the basic extracurricular intros—sharing that you routinely spend two hours at dinner with friends is probably more valuable info than sharing that you’re a nominal member of Throw Culture. (Up to 75 words)
2. Your vision for the Editorial Board, what you hope it will foster, how you see yourself contributing, etc. (Up to 150 words)
3. Pitch 2-3 article/essay topics or questions. These shouldn’t be a formal thesis, though please clearly state a contestable position. These topics/questions could be Wesleyan-specific (e.g., the admissions department should stop giving preferential treatment to recruited athletes, or “Keep Wes Weird” died ten years ago), more global (the US government should stop funding all foreign wars), or broader still on the human condition (young people should spend more time in solitude). Obviously, nuance is encouraged, and while these are a frame of reference, really any topic goes. Low stakes. (Up to 150 words)
4. Optional: share a writing sample.

Thomas Lyons is a member of the class of 2026 can be reached at trlyons@wesleyan.edu.