Dear Readers,
It has been our absolute honor and privilege to bring student journalism into the digital era at California Western. The Commentary started in 1973 as a print newspaper, carried forward by the hundreds of students over the past four decades who were willing to invest their time and talent into making student journalism a reality. We thank those students for their commitment to student journalism and for sustaining this valuable publication, bringing The Commentary into its current age.
This year, we decided to do something different. In November of last year, we launched the first-ever Commentary website. Although we value the importance of print journalism, we first and foremost wanted to make the news accessible, shareable, and interactive — and we felt that the online platform was the best way to do so, given the ubiquity of the Internet and social media.
With the support of a group of students who believed in us and our mission, we were able to launch our site and bring school and legal news into students’ lives. We were able to show you funny pictures of Professor Smith at the SBA Halloween auction. We were able to inform students on important legal issues such as California education reform, Cal Western student satisfaction statistics, and SBA elections. And we were able to highlight the awesome talent of our own students, such as our Moot Court teams that competed last fall, as well as our student organizations and journals that have hosted successful and impactful events, both on and off-campus.
Throughout the school year, we have continued to thrive and build momentum – leading to a total of over 1,600 site visitors and over 5,800 views! We now have a total of over 30 articles on the site, with our Harry Potter column taking the cake in terms of popularity and student interest.
Not all law schools have student-run newspapers — The Commentary is just one of the things that makes Cal Western shine and stand apart. Student journalism plays a vital role in keeping students engaged and connected to their school, as well as keeping students informed about important issues so they have the tools to be participatory citizens both at Cal Western and in the larger legal world.
Editor Chris Lawson, who graduates this month, feels honored to have served the California Western community in his role as editor of The Commentary. Chris had this to say, “The Commentary is a longstanding Cal Western tradition and it has been humbling carrying that tradition on. Thank you to everyone that has supported Sara and I as we ushered in a new era of The Commentary. As sad as I am to leave I am excited for what is to come. Through the continued leadership of Sara and new leadership of Tandis I believe the best is yet to come.”
Editor Sara Gold will return to the Commentary next year, joined by new co-editor Tandis Taghavi. Tandis, our Harry Potter columnist, has greatly contributed to The Commentary‘s success this trimester. In addition to being creative and hardworking, she is a very talented writer and editor, and we are excited to have her on-board for next year!
We thank everyone for their support of this publication! We also want to thank our faculty advisors (Kenneth Klein and Robert Bohrer), SBA, and Student Life for their assistance and support.
Our hope for next year is to increase student involvement, so please contact us at commentary@law.cwsl.edu if you are interested in joining our mailing list for next year. Students work on a freelance basis, meaning that you do your work remotely between your other commitments, and there is no requirement for how often you need to contribute or what you want to write about. Topics can include campus events, current legal issues, San Diego events/activities/restaurants, TV/movies, or whatever else students want to write about. We are very open to your suggestions and input, and we look forward to working with you next year to continue The Commentary’s legacy!
Much thanks,
Chris Lawson & Sara Gold