Targum caucuses in editorial board 152

The Daily Targum caucused in its 152nd editorial board on Friday, as Rutgers’ student newspaper continues to transition to appeal to a more digital, visual and diverse student audience. 

The Targum’s caucus typically runs more than 14 hours, with editor candidates answering questions based on grammar rules, journalism standards and workplace hypotheticals. After each candidate finishes their interview, all members of the outgoing and incoming boards vote to approve the candidate for their year-long role. 

Having finished her year as associate video editor on board 151, Andreana Loukidis, a Mason Gross School of the Arts sophomore, will take the lead as editor-in-chief. 

“My goal as editor-in-chief is to continue the Targum’s era of innovation by creating more multimedia content on our YouTube, Twitter and Instagram, revitalizing our podcast and mini documentary series and experimenting with our print issues to attract more student voices,” she said. 

Ensuring the Targum’s content reflects the student body is also a main priority of hers, Loukidis said. 

“I know that each of the other editorial board members on 152 is just as dedicated to this cause as I am,” Loukidis said. 

Loukidis will work alongside managing editor Michelle Fan, a School of Arts and Sciences junior. Fan plans on hosting several workshops and open houses in the Targum’s new space in the Student Activities Center on the College Avenue campus to make the Targum’s staff and operations more familiar to students. 

“I want students to know that we really are for students by students. And I’m so happy to be doing it with my amazing team,” Fan said. 

Both the head news editor Hayley Slusser and assignment editor Madison McGay, who are sophomores in the School of Arts and Sciences, think the news desk has a lot of potential, they said. 

“Between all of the different academic programs and student organizations, there are a lot of really interesting things going on at Rutgers and I want to make sure that we are able to cover the issues that are important to students,” Slusser said.

The news desk also hopes to recruit writers from all areas for diversity, whether it be based on demographics or academic interest. 

“We have a lot of room for growth and I think we’re in a good position to give more people the chance to have their voices heard,” McGay said. 

The sports desk, led by sports editor Joshua Valdez, a School of Arts and Sciences junior, and associate sports editor Ray Lewis, a School of Arts and Sciences freshman, is excited to work with the rest of the editorial board and make the Targum sports page the place for Rutgers sports content.

“With rising basketball and football programs, there is no better time to follow Rutgers sports,” Valdez said. “I want the Targum to be the primary place that Rutgers fans check for their sports news, and with hard work and dedication I think we can make that dream a reality.” 

Ameena Qobrtay, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore, the new features editor, said she is looking forward to having a greater online presence for her section, Inside Beat.

“Arts and culture really is such a broad area, and I want to try to focus on the areas that are sometimes forgotten about,” Qobrtay said.

Jake McGowan, a Rutgers Business School sophomore, is the returning opinions editor. He said he is looking forward to running the opinions section during the 2020 election year. 

“There will certainly be many, many spirited debates in my section, and plenty of differing views will contribute to the contrastive ambiance that Opinions offers,” McGowan said. “I also am excited to continue writing the editorials on behalf of the board, which will be increasingly more creative in both topic and dissemination as we move forward as a paper.” 

Alongside the core four desks, the photo desk will begin big changes as well. Salma HQ, a Mason Gross School of the Arts junior, wants to expand the desk to cover a more diverse collection of Rutgers' cultures and young artists during her time as head photo editor. 

“What I am most excited about is growing Humans of Rutgers University because, simply put: The diverse faces of New Brunswick deserve to be seen and have their stories heard,” HQ said. 

The associate photo editor, Mason Gross junior Kelly Carmack, is also looking forward to expanding the Targum’s social media presence and creating more original photography content, she said. 

The video desk will be led by video editor Tarana Parekh, a School of Arts and Sciences sophomore, along with associate video editor Eli Horowitz, a School of Arts and Sciences junior. They will work with Loukidis and the rest of the editorial board to produce more video content such as mini documentaries and podcasts that highlight a greater diversity of people and projects as well as the “hidden gems New Brunswick has to offer through our mini documentaries,” Parekh said. 

“Overall, I plan on working with the video team to expand our network of video interns and videographers and take the Targum’s multimedia content to the next level,” Horowitz said. 

Last but not certainly not least, the copy desk, led by copy editor Eu-Jin Pak, a School of Arts and Sciences junior, and associate copy editor Tiffany Park, a School of Engineering first-year, will continue to read over and check every article that gets published, ensuring they are accurate, informative and well-written.

“As a copy editor I want to improve the reliability of the Targum, so when someone sees or talks about the Targum they instantly think that it is factual and non-bias,” Pak said.