Coming into 2005, it seemed people expected something of a news lull following a tumultuous political year.

Though nothing proved to match the heated political scene of 2004, last semester saw a surprising resurgence in controversy. Starting the school year with a boom, students were welcomed back to a University of Wisconsin campus fully embroiled in scandal.

Between the felony convictions of three UW professors, the Paul Barrows debacle and the questionable departure of Luoluo Hong, the university administration seemed to find itself constantly on the defense. Nationally, major issues such as Cindy Sheehan's war protests, the political fallout of Hurricane Katrina and the ongoing battle over the Supreme Court dominated the political scene.

The level of news activity last fall goes to show that periods of political turmoil can arise unexpectedly.

This year has already begun with a spark. Samuel Alito went through his Senate confirmation hearing for the Supreme Court. At the state level, campaign battles are beginning to heat up for next fall's elections. On campus, the filling of UW's recently vacated provost position will attract much attention, and Paul Barrows will appeal his reprimand.

The Badger Herald's op-ed page will labor endlessly and meticulously to sort out these issues and others that are important to UW students. Via the publication of carefully selected columns, editorials and political cartoons, the editorial page will strive to attain fairness and impartiality in its coverage. Further, the page will regularly print letters to the editor, welcoming criticism of both its quality and balance of coverage.

The No. 1 job of The Badger Herald's op-ed page is to meet the needs of its readership. We promise to always keep the student in mind as we scrutinize every single word headed to press.

We look forward to serving you and hope you will find the op-ed section entertaining, informative and fair.