By Joshua Chang
We’ve reached the starting line of another school year. The Eyeopener has returned to Toronto Metropolitan University’s (TMU) campus from the summer’s warm embrace, and with it, thousands of students with eager eyes and open ears. Just like that, we’re back again.
I entered last year as a brand new editor with The Eye and a fourth-year student. Having begun my university career online back in 2020, I was optimistic that The Eye would soon recover from years spent watching the COVID-19 pandemic drain away accessibility to its readers. However, as the seasons changed, it became clear there would be that and much more to focus our attention on.
All throughout last year, major changes struck TMU and pushed everyone to their feet—including The Eye. We found ourselves face-to-face with drastic developments in news accessibility, global warfare and the many updates within our university—all taking a serious toll on our students, staff and communities. We pursued these stories with the main priority of telling them with integrity, empathy and intelligence.
Still, I knew that despite everyone’s best efforts to push forward, there would be dark days ahead.
Amongst all of this, The Eye’s promises to you, our readers, stay true. As always, we will strive to keep the university body well-informed on all things TMU-related, provide the most accurate coverage and pursue our goal of doing the most good and the least harm in our work.
This isn’t to say there haven’t been obstacles along the way. As Bill C-18, also known as the Online News Act, continues to restrict access to Canadian news on social media in the country, The Eye has made it a goal to increase our online presence to accommodate TMU students and staff in response to the change.
Since the act received royal assent in June 2023, Canadian news outlets have lost 85 per cent of their engagement on Meta-owned platforms like Instagram and Facebook, according to new research published by The Media Ecosystem Observatory. To make matters more concerning, less than a quarter of Canadians are even aware of the ban—over a year after it was implemented. This makes it important now more than ever for us to make our content more visible and accessible to the public.
In light of this, a brand new role, the digital producer, has been introduced to our masthead to dedicate special attention towards the quantity and quality of our online content. We hope this change will ensure consistent news updates on our social media platforms, provide more efficient access to our coverage and protect viewers from misinformation.
In stride with last year’s publication calendar, The Eye will be maintaining its bi-weekly print schedule to focus on our online presence and protect our readership as it becomes more difficult to access news online and less common to obtain it in print. Additionally, this decision will allow us to preserve the quality of our reduced print copies and commit more resources into keeping them accessible and of high quality.
While our bi-weekly circulation doesn’t ensure every story gets laid out on paper, each one is still just as equally important to cover. We will continue to keep the university accountable for its student resources, health and safety procedures and additional efforts to increase security on campus. We will also keep an eye out for progressions in our community’s continuous developments and those relevant to it, such as the anticipated renaming of Yonge-Dundas Square to Sankofa Square.
All of this to say, our reporting will stretch as far as necessary to shed light on as many impactful university stories as possible. Our hope is to represent the student body in every section and amplify their voices in every story. Whether it be through a protest for change or a riveting game down at the Mattamy Athletic Centre, you can bet we’ll be there.
The Eye recognizes the changes affecting all of us at TMU. For better or for worse, whether we like it or not, this will continue to be what pushes us forward and reminds us why we’re still around, fighting for a better future. As your university newspaper, run by students and for students, we promise to never forget this. We are and will always be represented by you and will work tirelessly to maximize the wellbeing of our community as a result.
To all the brand new students who will undoubtedly be frequenting Balzac’s and getting lost in Kerr Hall for the first time—welcome! And to everyone else entering another era of their life here, you can rest a bit easier knowing this ain’t your first rodeo. There’s still much to do and we’re proud to have you tag along as we find our way in this whirlwind called the present. So as you bravely enter the Fall 2024 semester, know this: if you’re ever feeling like a fish out of water, don’t worry. I swear we’re right there in the sand next to you.
Besides, we’ve gotten this far without burning down…why stop now?
Leave a Reply