Welcome back. Your dreams may have been your ticket out of Madison for a month, but like all dreams, this too was quickly crushed by real world responsibilities such as school, jobs and parole-mandated AA meetings. Like the good-souled politicians our page covers on a daily basis, Hannah and I, as the newish Badger Herald Opinion Page Editors, are more than willing to offer up a slew of half-hearted promises regarding the direction of this semester’s section, but before we get to those semi-important matters, we should probably tackle the one staring our campus and nation straight in the face: the aftermath of the Haitian earthquake.

The life of a college student is rarely glamorous, and there is something uniquely depressing about an existence dominated by cheap, pasta-based meals and unpaid internships, but our troubles can in no way compare to those of the people of Haiti right now. Even more terrifying than the fluctuating death toll estimates are the long-term effects of a country with a capital in ruins, especially one with about zero financial flexibility. We can help, both by keeping the people of Haiti in our thoughts and by giving from our bank accounts. And honestly, if you give enough money, we’ll waive the “keep them in your thoughts” part.

There is no shortage of groups willing to take your donation, including UNICEF, CARE, The Red Cross and dozens of religiously based non-profits, and ideally, you want to take a few minutes to ensure the money you give is actually making it onto the ground. After all, it’s not like we’re swimming in cash, and if you’re going to dip into the Tour de Franzia fund to assist in international aid, you’re going to want to spend effectively. But for those of you who are either strapped for time, allergic to the word “research” or simply too optimistic with how groups taking in millions of dollars spend them, donating can as easy as sending a text message.

By sending a text message to 90999 with the word “Haiti,” you will automatically donate $10 to the Red Cross. Even more, the donation comes out of your cell phone bill, so if you’re still lucky enough to have parents who pay for that, this is beyond painless. We’re still a little fuzzy on how it all works, but if texting is your preferred donation method, you’re probably not too worked up about it.

Please donate. The good people of Haiti need this money much more than the athletic department, North Face, Chipotle or Pat Robertson does. Especially Pat Robertson. We’re not trying to be sanctimonious or “holier-than-thou” with how an entire campus should spend its money, but as two people lucky enough to have a voice on campus, we feel this is pretty important.

We’re also trying to fill space, but that’s pretty typical.

As for the future of the Opinion section, we’re constantly trying to see how we can improve in our task to help educate the campus on important issues. Once again, we’re looking for strong, passionate writers, and will be holding new writers meeting at The Badger Herald office at 5 p.m. on Jan. 27 and 28 (a Wednesday and Thursday). Even more, we’re exploring new ways to break up daily content. The foundation of a good Opinion page will still be, well, good opinions, but there are other ways to bring politics to the campus, including weekly recaps and brief interviews with important local figures. We’re also working to employ more thematic ideas, like last semester’s Diversity Initiative, if only a bit more refined and concise this time around.

This is our baby, and we’re committed to making sure it doesn’t bite any of the other kids or sleep on its stomach at night. He — and yes, Hannah, he’s a boy now — might not get into MIT, but hopefully he won’t wind up in juvie, either. Ultimately, an Opinion page is judged by how well its articles cause the readership to assess its position on issues, and as long as we can get people to do that — and as long as the issue being revalued is not “how much does writer X blow” — we won’t feel guilty cashing our lavish paychecks.

And so we beat on, boats against the current, borne back ceaselessly into the past. Or something like that. Just help Haiti.