By Chandlor Henderson
In 2021, shortly after the nation was gripped by the 2020 Black Lives Matter protests demanding reform for racial violence, I was offered the role of editor-in-chief of The Torch by then-advisor Dr. Charlie Deitz. At the time, The Torch was online only, as the COVID-19 pandemic severely disrupted campus activities, and printing the paper was deemed unnecessary.
However, despite not having a print edition, our online analytics showed quite impressive readership, earning 49k unique views in 2021, compared to 37k in 2020 and 40k in 2022.
In the summer of 2024, new advisor and longtime LCC writing and journalism instructor, Dr. Camilla Mortensen, asked me to return to help reboot The Torch, which had become inactive due to bureaucratic failures. For the first time in over five decades, Lane Community College had no campus news publication. To many, this was a travesty, and thankfully, Dr. Laura Pelletier assisted in saving our long-standing student newspaper.
My second term at The Torch has been challenging. The students are younger, I’m older, and Donald Trump is back in office. It seems as if history is repeating itself, and our American democracy is in peril, at least from my vantage point. But that’s what makes journalism important.
While I may not share opinions with everyone on campus, I invite anyone to share their work with us and be a part of our community. As long as your opinions aren’t hateful or demeaning to anyone in our shared community, all are invited to be involved.
I’ve been fortunate to work with Kat Tabor and River Shepherd, who have been patient with me as I navigate bringing the print paper back, managing dual enrollment at Lane and University of Oregon, and dealing with general anxiety about the future. As we work on revitalizing The Denali, in addition to The Torch, I will be leaning on them to assist with the layout and design.
The Denali has been publishing artwork from Lane’s community since 1971. Any art is welcome including but not limited to short story, prose, poetry, photography, and graphic art.
I’m happy to say this paper will be printed monthly going forward, along with The Denali, which is now a subsidiary of The Torch. Now more than ever, we need student journalists, advertising designers, social media influencers, and artists to help us navigate the changing country and cultural norms. We need your words, thoughts, art and music to continue shaping Lane Community College and Eugene as a whole. We are here to help and provide guidance.
Please send me an email at torcheditor@lanecc.edu so we can collaborate.
Cheers,
Chandlor Henderson
