Welcome to opinions, and happy first day of classes!

I’m Maggie Durwald, a junior linguistics and French major and Buffalo, New York, native. I’ve been with the opinions desk since the beginning of my first year, when I worked as a columnist, but you might remember me from last year, when I was opinions editor. I’m back this year in the same position, and I’m very much looking forward to continuing and expanding on the work we’ve done at a section that’s become my second home.

I’m Leah Mensch, a junior nonfiction writing and English literature major. I started writing for the opinions desk last fall and served as the opinions editor this past summer. I’ll be hanging out in the office two nights a week this semester, serving as the assistant opinions editor. I’m thrilled to be part of the editorial board this year, but I’m most excited to work at the best desk, alongside an editor as fun as Maggie — who, by the way, loves having her picture taken.

With so much news happening here at Pitt, in Pittsburgh, in the country and around the world, more and more people seem to be shutting it all out as a sort of coping mechanism. It can be taxing — not to mention impossible — to dissect and think about everything that’s happening in the world.

That’s where the opinions desk comes in. We’re proud and excited to analyze local and world news in a way that stimulates conversation and debate on campus. We’ve been hard at work this summer, publishing columns about a wide range of topics — from the pros and cons of PittStart to residence hall horoscopes to 2020 Democratic presidential candidates.

Our columnists are ready to continue that hard work to bring you a variety of liberal and conservative viewpoints on anything and everything that touches student life. But it’s our goal to provide a platform for not just our columnists, but the rest of the student body too.

We’d love to hear from you. If you have a viewpoint you’d like to share with other Pitt students, send us an email at [email protected]. We’re always accepting op-ed submissions and letters to the editor.