Perhaps it’s because I’m a lazy bugger, but even so, I think it is quite a good thing that I absolutely refuse to expend any effort without a clear understanding of the purpose that effort is aimed to achieve. Accordingly, I have put a good deal of thought towards the purposes that I aim to achieve personally through my work with the Crier, and, more relevant to this article, towards the purposes that the Crier itself aims to achieve as an institution. As we begin another season of publishing, I figured it would be a good time to share these thoughts, largely in the hopes of inspiring new writers, and perhaps new readers.

In my view, the main purposes of the Crier are these:

Disseminating information in a way that is tailored to the Anselmian audience, and fostering the exchange of ideas across disparate groups within Anselmian society.

First, there is the goal of disseminating information in a way that is tailored to the Anselmian audience. This is handled chiefly by the News, Culture, and Sports sections. This may not be important to everyone, but personally, I have found that I feel much more like a real part of a community when I am up to date with the information that is relevant to it, and I suspect that is the case for more people than might realize it. On this front, the argument for the Crier’s effectiveness is very easily made, for the Crier is undoubtedly the premier source of information on stories which pertain directly to this college. This is largely due to the fact that, over the course of decades, the Crier, as an institution, has established a good reputation for itself, and good relationships with so many members of the campus community that its writers can obtain interviews with just about anyone. Even as regards outside topics, which are covered well by national media, it seems to me that the Crier has some qualitative advantage to the extent that it provides its coverage for Anselmians by Anselmians, and can therefore take into account the concerns and perspectives which may be uniquely prevalent in our community, and speak effectively to them. However, I will not pretend that covering national events is a primary strength of the Crier, in a way that covering campus events is. 

Next, there is the goal of fostering the exchange of ideas across disparate groups on campus. This is handled chiefly by my own beloved Opinion section. Experience has shown that what seems wise in my own mind may be revealed as foolishness once I discuss it with friends, and that what seems wise among friends may be revealed as foolishness once discussed with an outsider. Each of us has things to learn from the vast majority of strangers, and on the other side of that coin, it must be believed that the vast majority of strangers have things to learn from each of us. But regardless of who is teaching and who is learning, the broad exchange of ideas is an essential part of finding the truth, and is arguably among the primary purposes of college itself. Even within the college environment though, this exchange is often limited by friend group bounds. It is generally frowned upon as an imposition to approach someone you don’t know well, give them your thoughts on some topic, and invite their criticism. This is especially true if that stranger is an important figure on campus. However, within the context of the Crier, this sort of communication can be accomplished gracefully, between strangers and across every echelon of Anselmian society. This is largely due to the fact that, over the course of decades, the Crier, as an institution, has developed a broad readership, including students, professors, administrators, and monks. Formal responses, in the form of contrary opinion articles or direct contacts from readers to writers, regrettably, are not common, but even so, an idea which is published touches more minds on campus than one which remains confined within any particular friend group, and I think that is valuable in its own rite.