The Badger Herald Editorial Board is composed of five members of our staff, and represent the voice of our editorial department. Our mission is straightforward — to speak up and take a stance on the most relevant issues concerning the UW campus community, city of Madison and state of Wisconsin. In addition, we welcome one or two students from the campus community who are not Badger Herald staff to serve as our campus liaisons, to ensure this Board continues to challenge itself with new perspectives.

If you have suggestions for topics we should cover, or have a response to anything we write, feel free to send us an email at [email protected].

Following is this year’s Editorial Board:

Connor Touhey, Editorial Board Chair

Hello,

I’m Connor Touhey, a redshirt senior serving as this semester’s Editorial Board Chair. This is my 5th semester of working with the Herald and my second semester sitting on Ed board.

I’m from a small suburb of Milwaukee called Hales Corners and I’ve lived in Wisconsin my whole life.I’m passionate about the state I call home and the issues we continue to face. I’m not afraid to speak up when I think something our Governor, our President or anyone else in a position of power is doing something wrong (see, Connor as Opinion Editor/Columnist).

I want to be perfectly clear about something — though I do have my own strongly held political beliefs, this editorial board will hold campus, municipal and state officials accountable regardless of which “side of the aisle” they may sit on.

If we see something potentially damaging or harmful to students at UW, the people of Madison, or the state of Wisconsin, we will say something.

If you’d like to suggest topics the Badger Herald Editorial Board should cover, or you wish to speak with us, you can email me at [email protected].

Alice Vagun, Editor-in-Chief

Hello, internet.

The name is Alice, the status is senior and the major is Biology. This is my fifth semester at The Herald and my first semester on the Editorial Board.

Excuse the “who, what, when, where why” style of writing, but as a survivor of the city desk and general world of news, I am not quite sure how an opinion piece is supposed to look like.

As mentioned previously, I spent most of my time covering news, the majority of which included reporting on local government and the aftermath of the 2016 election. This year, I am beyond excited and humbled to be stepping up as Editor-in-Chief for The Badger Herald, which I can assure you is not “fake news.”

The current political climate is a tense one, and for many — especially for journalists — it can be difficult to navigate. But as we enter a new semester, I am excited to bring to light the challenges our community faces, and some of the ways we can go about addressing them together.

So, let’s talk.

Whether you want to discuss free speech on campus, talk about your favorite subreddit  (here’s mine) or send me a picture of that dog on campus that walks itself with its leash in its mouth — feel free to send me a message at [email protected] or slide in my DMs at @a_vagoon.

Yusra Murad, Managing Editor

My name is Yusra and I will be very kind unless I hear you disrespect Rihanna or wonder aloud about hey, what about black-on-black crime.

I’m not a student of journalism, but I stumbled into this field and have never looked back. Journalism is truth-telling. And during an exceptionally volatile time in America, it is extremely important to me that people of color are deeply involved in sharing their truths.

As much as I wish I could eat cold pizza at the Herald office forever, eventually I’ll change out of these 7 dollar Old Navy jeans and beg for a job working in public health, somewhere far from the Midwest where I can take the train everywhere. But for now, here I am, firmly planted in Madison, WI, complaining to you about white boys (why can’t you dance?).

After spending 2016-17 as the Opinion Editor, I’ve got a decent grasp on what this campus would die for, and what really pisses you off. Hopefully, you’ll learn the same about Ed board. It’s @yusra_____ or [email protected], unless I owe you money in which case, the service is cutting out, g2g.

Lucas Johnson, Opinion Editor

Dear person reading this, hey, I’m Lucas, but you can call me Lucas. I’ll be the Opinion editor this semester which means I edit the Opinion section. If you’d like to argue about Disney movies, the NBA or you’re just looking to chat about the world, I dabble.

I’m a sophomore majoring in journalism, so I’m young, optimistic about the world of full-time employment, but ready to make a small salary. I also report on the football team, so I’d like to say thank you to all who make the press box shake during jump around. If you’re still reading at this point, congrats, here’s more information about me, myself and I.

I’ve lived in the Twin Cities my entire life and cannot think of a better place on the planet. Basically if you like tremendous people, a baller atmosphere and an overwhelming feeling of pride in your community, swing on by, we’re happy to have you. If you disagree, let’s write a point counterpoint together– I rarely get an opportunity to put my love for MN in written words.

If you’ve got strong opinions, that’s great news. I wanna hear about them. In my experience, there’s no better way to flesh out your own thoughts all while sharing their impact with others than through opinion content. Email me at [email protected] if you’d like your voice to be heard, have tickets to a Minnesota Timberwolves game you can’t make or wanna talk about how unbelievable a Chance the Rapper and Frank Ocean collab album would be.

Aly Niehans, Opinion Editor

Hey there, I’m Aly Niehans and I’m this semester’s opinion editor, which basically makes me a huge deal. I have some pretty strong opinions about coffee, politics and the infamous oxford comma, as well as mashed potatoes.

I am a sophomore majoring in international studies and intending to major in journalism, which means that most STEM majors will tell me I won’t ever be able to find a job, but that’s okay.

I was born and raised in Oshkosh, Wisconsin, home to the single most disgusting music festival in the world: Country USA. I can sort of speak Danish because I got to live in Copenhagen for a year, which isn’t as cool as it sounds because the language makes even the most eloquent person sound like they’re choking on a potato.

If anyone ever wants to chat, recommend music and/or quality TV shows, fund my borderline addiction to online shopping or write super sassy opinion columns for us (because we always, always, always need new writers!!) feel free to shoot me an email at [email protected]