By Noelle Friedberg

Editorial Staff

The Pioneer was founded in 1998 and was CSUSM’s first newspaper. In 2000, its name was changed to The Pride, and finally, in 2011, our school paper became what we know it as today – The Cougar Chronicle.

The Cougar Chronicle has won many awards throughout the years for its dedication to excellence. In 2014, our very own Rachel Gallego won 2nd place in the category of College Media for her column “The Heart Beat” from the Society of Professional Journalists. That same year, Jeff Meints received an Honorable Mention in the same category of College Media for his insightful article entitled “Homeless Perspective.” In 2013, The Cougar Chronicle was nominated as Campus Organization of the Year at the Tukwut Leadership Awards Night, and received six other awards in that year.

Some noteworthy articles we have published include Kristin Melody’s article “700 Students Caught Up in Vote-Tampering Scandal,” which detailed the events of the arrest and charges of identity theft filed against CSUSM student Matt Weaver in 2012. In her article “CSUSM Student Arrested in ‘Sextortion’ Case,” our Editor-in-Chief Katlin Sweeney covered the arrest of James Abrahams in 2013 for allegedly hacking into the webcams and computers of 30 to 150 women worldwide. And our News Editor Jasmine Demers covered relevant events related to campus in such stories as her 2015 article “Student Health Services Makes Return to Campus.”

2014 featured battles in our Opinion section over the issue of modesty, with Chelsea Lightfoot making “A Plea for Modesty,” while Sarah Hughes presented her opposing views in the article “Modesty Undressed.”

Our Sports section is always on the ball to bring you the latest in the world of athletics on campus, and Features is the place to turn to if you’re looking for anything from a new recipe to try out at home to a spotlight on your favorite professor.

Our Arts and Entertainment section works hard to give you the best information possible on what books you should be reading, what music you should be listening to, what video games you should be playing and what movies you should or should not see.

“Having a newspaper is an integral part of campus life. The ability to pick up a newspaper that was written by someone else who has gone through similar frustrations, accomplishments and experiences brings a campus community together. Regardless of whether you are a student, faculty member or staff member, when you can look at a newspaper and see yourself authentically reflected in those pages, that is when your newspaper is serving you. We work hard to make sure that everyone at CSUSM knows that we represent them and care about their experiences,” said Katlin Sweeney, The Cougar Chronicle’s Editor-in-Chief since May of 2013.

The staff at The Cougar Chronicle would like to say thank you for your continued support and readership. We work hard to bring you the most relevant news and information, and we feel it is truly a gift to serve the community of CSUSM.