Expect the unexpected: Meet the members of our newest editorial board

The Daily Targum caucused its new editorial board on Friday, marking 151 years of student journalism at Rutgers.

During an exhaustive 13-hour oral exam at the Douglass Student Center, members of Board 150 quizzed their inductees on everything from Associate Press (AP) Stylebook guidelines to fresh ideas for improving the paper’s content and hypothetical scenarios meant to test their ethics and decision-making skills. 

The Targum’s new editor-in-chief, Rebecca Bright, explained how a tight-knit bond between new board members forged early on is essential to the paper’s success. 

“I could not be more excited to be the editor-in-chief of Board 151. Each of the editors is passionate, driven and make long nights feel like just a few hours,” she said.

Bright will be joined by Managing Editor Priyanka Bansal in helping shape a new identity for the Targum that reflects its passion for student journalism and commitment to the truth. 

Brendan Brightman and Catherine Nguyen will work together to tackle all that is news on and off campus, with a keen focus on science news and investigative journalism.

“Our role is to be a source of information on all of these happenings and present them in the fairest and (most) accurate way. I'm grateful to have found something that I love doing — The Daily Targum means a lot to me and I will work my hardest to make the news section the best it can be,” Nguyen said. 

For Sports Editor Jackson Thompson and Associate Sports Editor Jake Schmied, this is only their second semester at Rutgers. Both Thompson, a transfer student from Mercer Community College, and Shmied, a School of Arts and Sciences first-year, were editors at their school papers and plan on connecting students with sports content that anyone can access. 

“The sports desk will put out more in-depth coverage of Rutgers athletics while showcasing student athletes at the same time. Rutgers students can expect more human interest stories and sports collaborations with the video desk that will feature football practice updates as well as profiling several Knights,” Schmied said.

Luke Hinrichs will be in charge of the opinions section. He plans on working closely with the video and news desks to connect students with new perspectives and hot takes on current events. 

Photo editors Dustin Niles and Garrett Steffe have been with the Targum for less than a year and rose in its ranks quickly — proving early on that they were willing to step up when needed. 

“Garrett and I really want to get more original content into the paper. We’re excited to work with our photographers on getting more coverage at events and get more feature photos. We’re also restarting Humans of RU and we’re really excited to work on that and make it as successful as possible,” Niles said. 

In keeping up the vision of a multimedia-friendly paper, Video Editor Henry Strehlo and Associate Video Editor Andreana Loukidis plan on partnering with fellow editors to produce a series of short documentaries and video news coverage similar to that of The New York Times. 

Increasingly, papers across the country are cutting their copy sections in an effort to roll back production costs, but the Targum is proud to report its new Copy and Associate Copy Editors Taylor Dua and Ria Malatesta are a vital part of the team. The duo plan on presenting stories that are easy, entertaining and accessible. 

“As our motto goes, one should ‘expect the unexpected,' but I hope (students will) be happy with our consistency and dedication to producing a quality paper which represents them,” Dua said. 

Jordan Levy is a bit of wildcard. Prior to joining the Targum, he worked for fellow campus media outlet Rutgers Radio, hosting his own show and dabbling in the underground music scene here in New Brunswick. He is double-majoring in music and journalism. As Inside Beat editor, he will channel his love of art into a constructive, creative entertainment section. 

“I also hope to continue to publish incisive and effective cultural criticism. Students can expect the Targum to be a source for news, entertainment and commentary that spans the wide breadth of opinions and interests at Rutgers University. More than anything I hope the paper can answer the questions of the day and inspire thought that builds toward a better future,” he said. 

One of the biggest challenges facing the paper this year is Referendum. Every three years students get to decide whether they want to continue supporting the Targum through their term bills. It will not be an easy undertaking, but one that the collective energies on Board 151 are fully capable of accomplishing by following through on their goals and publishing content that is by students, for students.