Ah, the New Year. Time for idealistic New Year’s resolutions, bright new ideas and, best of all, a fresh start. As we begin to adjust to the post-holiday season and wind down to business in our respective work modes, there’s always a January lag.

But at the Arizona Daily Wildcat, it’s different.

Sure, I’ve taken my break off of school. I even spent a couple of days doing absolutely nothing, but not without keeping you, the reader, in mind. Our fantastic group of editors has been working throughout the winter break to continue to provide you with the best source of news on campus.

We’ve been attempting to impersonate you. We want to get into your head and get to the bottom of why you would want to read the Wildcat every day.

And we’ve got it.

Whether you’re here for the continuously popular police beat, or you’re checking in on our highly charismatic men’s basketball team, rest assured, we have something for you.

It’s a big semester here at the UA. We will start to see the impact of $10.3 million in budget cuts, and President Robert Shelton will get a chance to showcase his lobbying skills for the first time at the state Legislature. We’re starting to see progress with the city of Tucson’s Rio Nuevo project. Between Associated Students of the University of Arizona elections and Spring Fling, we’ll be busy bees bringing you the freshest, most concise and up-to-date news available.

We’ve revamped our arts section to bring you an entertainment page every Friday, along with our WildLife section every Thursday, to keep you in the know for the weekend. Every Wednesday, our news section has introduced a science and technology feature to keep you updated on what our top research university is up to (see page 8), and we have a team working on in-depth investigative stories so you know what’s going on behind the scenes of the UA and the surrounding community. Our sports reporters will be following our men’s basketball team to the NCAA Tournament, blogging along the way to bring you the most comprehensive coverage available, because isn’t that what you deserve?

I believe a newspaper’s loyalty lies first with its citizens. Independent college newspapers like the Wildcat are unique in the sense that their success is not measured in dollars, but rather in the quality of their journalism. You’re the reason we’re here, and we want you to let us know how we’re doing. Love us or hate us, we’re not going away, so why not write us a letter letting us know what you think? Just as a leader without followers is just a man taking a walk, a newspaper without a readership is just a product without a purpose.

Nicole Santa Cruz is a journalism senior. She can be reached at editor@widlcat.arizona.edu