The Badger Herald Editorial Board is composed of six Herald staff members and represents the voice of our editorial department. Our purpose is to speak out and take a stance on the most relevant issues concerning the University of Wisconsin campus, the city of Madison and the state of Wisconsin. Each member of the Board is engaged with the greater campus community outside of the Herald, and we constantly strive to ensure we challenge ourselves 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 semester’s Editorial Board:

Abigail Steinberg — Editorial Board Chair

Just when you think she’d finally leave the dingy halls of The Badger Herald and get a real job — she gets a real job but still finds time to be the HBIC of this damn board. Abby’s the name, screaming is my game. Sometimes I scream within the pages of this paper, sometimes from the comfort of my own home. I’m a senior studying journalism, political science and public policy and my dream is to be the first president under five feet tall. 

This is my seventh semester with the Herald’s editorial department, my sixth semester on the Editorial Board and my second semester as Editorial Board Chair. I previously served as managing editor and opinion editor, and so I feel as if I have a good gauge as to what makes you people tick. But if I’m wrong — and I quite often am — I want to hear from you. Write for the Herald, submit a Letter to the Editor, email at [email protected], tweet me @AbbyRSteinberg or message me on JDate. That’d be a funny story.

Harrison Freuck — Editor-in-Chief

Your favorite sports-editor-turned-Editor-in-Chief is joining the Editorial Board for the first time this fall, and I look forward to keeping it controversial with you throughout this semester. I’m a junior studying journalism with a certificate in sports communications and I don’t have a freaking clue what I want to do in life, except write. A lot. I like writing and reading and sports.

This is my fifth semester with the Herald’s editorial department and my first semester as EIC and on the Editorial Board, so we’ll see how this wild ride goes. If you want to send me your hot takes or if you want to say something about something, feel free to join the Herald’s editorial staff, email me at [email protected] or tweet me @HarrisonFreuck. Yee haw!

Gretchen Gerlach — Director of Public Relations

I’m Gretchen, and I’ve been a Badger Heralder since freshman-me prepared for a formal interview at 152 W. Johnson with the EIC only to find very few people who knew what was going on, an office that smelled like Hamms, sticky keyboards and a massive hole in the wall. 

This will be my seventh semester and final year with the Herald. As much as I’ve loved covering city and state news, editing feature-length stories and my semester-long stint as managing editor, TV journalism is where my heart is at. I’m excited to graduate this spring with a BA degree from the School of Journalism and Mass Communication with a double emphasis in reporting and strategic communication. 

In the meantime, I’ll be doing good journalisming as the PR Director this semester. If you want to get involved with the Herald, share your voice or just hang out on our ripped couches, email me at [email protected]. 

This is all to say, you do not need a formal interview. Just come write for us. 

Nuha Dolby — Print Features Editor

I’m Nuha, I’m back for a second semester on this editorial board, and I’m just as mediocre as ever! I’m a junior, I study English and Math, I double as this semester’s illustrative director and print features editor and I’m excited to subject the rest of the board — and the public at large — to my very loud opinions.

Besides causing problems and taking names, I’m very into Bob’s Burgers, knitting and wearing plaid men’s boxers as shorts — and then getting upset when people tell me I’m not fashionable. I also am always excited to hear from y’all — my Twitter is @NuhaDolby, my email is [email protected] and if you want to track down my middle school Tumblr and message me there, I’ll be thoroughly impressed. 

Please don’t, though. My ugly pics are on there.

John Spengler — Digital Features Editor

Still trying to be an intern with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, this fall will be my 5th semester with the Herald and my first semester with the Editorial Board. As a junior member of this board, I hereby promise to bring you the most controversial of opinions that I’m absolutely, 100% positive most of Madison doesn’t already agree with. 

I’m a junior studying political science and economics, which places me among the non-journalists on this board — please don’t ask me how to write a lede. Other interests include reading half a book and then forgetting about it, cooking and arguing over movies. If you want to talk about any of these topics or are interested in writing a feature — it can be about literally anything please help I’m running out of ideas and it’s the beginning of the semester — feel free to email me at [email protected]. I’m also including a shameless plug for my twitter account, @John_Spengler, as I’ve been siphoning off followers by the day.

Samiha Bhushan — Opinion Editor

Hello readers, it’s ya favorite bubble tea enthusiast returning to the Editorial Board for the second time! My name is Samiha and this is my third semester at the Herald. 

I’m a sophomore currently majoring in English Literature, though that will probably change in no time, knowing me. What I do know is that I love voicing my opinions, no matter the situation — don’t worry, I’m real fun at parties. 

I also love hearing other people’s thoughts, and one of the main aims we have at the Herald is to stimulate community engagement — we want to hear from you. Please shoot me an email at [email protected] for anything. Seriously. Whether you want to talk politics, rant about the inescapably frigid Midwestern weather or wax poetic about cheese curds, I’m always willing to chat.

The Editorial Board serves to represent the voice of the Badger Herald editorial department, distinct from the newsroom, and does not necessarily reflect the views of each staff member.