{"id":60782,"date":"2026-03-12T08:50:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-12T12:50:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/?p=60782"},"modified":"2026-03-12T09:33:20","modified_gmt":"2026-03-12T13:33:20","slug":"first-amendment-freedoms-flourish-through-weather-vane-pages","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/first-amendment-freedoms-flourish-through-weather-vane-pages\/","title":{"rendered":"First Amendment freedoms flourish through Weather Vane pages"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Campus newspaper gives students a voice<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s no secret that print newspapers are an endangered species.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Cities as large as Pittsburgh<\/a> and Atlanta<\/a> are without printed daily newspapers, as media companies shift to digital, reduce their print schedule, or close entirely.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For colleges and universities, it\u2019s more of the same. In the past four years, the state flagship universities of Maine<\/a>, Missouri<\/a>, and Oklahoma<\/a> have shifted their student newspapers from print to online-only editions.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

At EMU, the ink and newsprint are still very much alive. Every two weeks during the school year, a dynamic team of writers, editors, designers, and photographers works to put together and publish The Weather Vane<\/em><\/strong><\/a>. The student-run print newspaper, which averages 12 pages of stories and color photos per issue, captures the buzz on campus through reporting and perspectives on campus policies, cultural trends, and national politics.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The half-broadsheet (a term referring to the paper\u2019s physical size) prints 14 issues each academic year and is in its 72nd volume. Read about the history of EMU\u2019s student newspaper, from its first issue as the mimeographed “Purple Press” in 1939 to its merger with The Journal<\/em> in 1956, in this EMU News article<\/a> from 2016. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"
Alex Belisle and Caleb Metzler, co-editors-in-chief of The Weather Vane this semester, glance at the assignment board before a production night planning meeting in January.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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A paper of record<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

This semester, juniors Caleb Metzler<\/strong> and Alex Belisle<\/strong> serve as the paper\u2019s co-editors-in-chief. They lead a mix of work-study, practicum, and volunteer student staffers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s a new experience for Belisle. The biology and political science major from Newport News, Virginia, is in his first semester in the post. He\u2019s recently been reading articles from old Weather Vane<\/em> issues and says it\u2019s exciting to think about how their stories might be viewed years into the future.<\/p>\n\n\n

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\"\"<\/a>
Read old issues<\/a> of The Weather Vane<\/em> dating back to 1939.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

\u201cIt gives a view into what students from a certain time were thinking and what the attitudes were from that time,\u201d said Belisle. \u201cI think we underestimate how much norms can change.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, he said, one article he read in an archived issue of The Weather Vane <\/em>quoted a student predicting that the United States would elect a Black president before electing a Catholic one.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThere\u2019s definitely going to be a story in this issue or the next one that isn\u2019t super interesting to us,\u201d he said, \u201cbut in four years it\u2019ll be like, Oh, why were they thinking that at the time? That\u2019s so weird<\/em>.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Metzler, the role is a familiar one. The York, Pennsylvania, native, who is majoring in political science, sociology, and Spanish, is in his third semester leading the paper. He joined as a staff writer during his first year at EMU, where he \u201cwrote a lot of stories and learned a lot of lessons,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou have to be a team player,\u201d said Metzler, sharing one of those lessons. \u201cIf you don\u2019t do your work, everybody else is going to be scrambling to pick up after you, and that\u2019s not fun.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Metzler said they\u2019ve been free to express their opinions without fear of censorship from the administration. \u201cShannon,\u201d he said, referring to Interim President Rev.<\/strong> Dr. Shannon W. Dycus<\/strong>, \u201chas been very supportive of what we do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sitara Hackney<\/strong>, managing editor for The Weather Vane<\/em>, agreed. \u201cWe try and encourage people to express themselves as they want,\u201d said Hackney, a junior history and education major in her sixth semester with the paper. \u201cAs copy editors, part of our job is changing what people write, but it\u2019s still their names getting printed with their articles.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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\"\"
Campus Life Editor Micah Wenger hard at work editing a story for The Weather Vane during a production night on Jan. 21.<\/strong><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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From plan to print<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s just past 5:30 p.m. on a Wednesday in January when Metzler and Belisle call the production night meeting, their first of the spring 2026 semester, to order. They stand in front of a whiteboard in the basement lounge of Maplewood Residence Hall, dry erase markers in hand.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWhat is everybody interested in writing about?\u201d Metzler asks the group of 10 students.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Staff Writer Samuel Castaneda<\/strong> calls out an idea for an opinion piece<\/a>: \u201cHaving an 8 a.m. virtual class on a snow day is not something that should happen.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another student pitches a story<\/a> on the hazing training required for all EMU employees. \u201cMaybe there\u2019s a story there,\u201d ponders Metzler. \u201cWhat\u2019s EMU\u2019s history with hazing?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After his older brother, Campus Life Editor and champion chili eater<\/a> Micah Wenger<\/strong>, suggests getting tickets to see a one-woman show, Sell Me: I am from North Korea<\/em>, at James Madison University\u2019s Forbes Center for the Performing Arts, first-year student and Opinion Editor Reuben Wenger<\/strong> agrees to review it<\/a> for the paper.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There\u2019s almost always space in the paper for the word search, sudoku, and maze puzzles contributed by Copy Editor Ethan Kanagy<\/strong>. It\u2019s typically among the most popular sections of The Weather Vane<\/em>, says Belisle.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019ve seen people in the caf doing the puzzles,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe hear complaints when there aren\u2019t any puzzles,\u201d Metzler chimes in.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After collecting story ideas for the issue coming out in two weeks, the co-editors-in-chief lead their team of staffers into the Weather Vane<\/em> newsroom to put together the next day\u2019s paper. Fueled by camaraderie and slices of Marco\u2019s Pizza, the students work through the night editing and designing pages until the paper is put to bed (meaning it\u2019s finished and ready to print). On Thursday morning, the newspaper will be printed at a site about 40 minutes away and delivered to campus later that afternoon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the pitches they hear at the planning meeting, one unexpected event ends up dominating the front page. Four nights later, a burst of extremely cold weather causes a sprinkler malfunction<\/a> inside one of the residence halls. It isn\u2019t until 2 a.m. that the issue finally comes together.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

For more information about The Weather Vane<\/em>, contact faculty advisor Mary Ann Zehr <\/strong>at maryann.zehr@emu.edu or the student editors at wvane@emu.edu.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Campus newspaper gives students a voice It\u2019s no secret that print newspapers are an endangered species. Cities as large as Pittsburgh and Atlanta are without printed daily newspapers, as media ... read more about First Amendment freedoms flourish through Weather Vane pages<\/span><\/a><\/p>","protected":false},"author":302,"featured_media":60787,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5583,14715,17562,356,4513],"tags":[18890,18889,18893,18892,18886,14563,18888,18891,18887,18885],"feature":[17427,17426,17241,17422],"class_list":["post-60782","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-campus-community","category-campus-life","category-digest","category-language-and-literature","category-student-life","tag-alex-belisle","tag-caleb-metzler","tag-first-amendment","tag-jasmin-ruiz","tag-journalism","tag-language-and-literature","tag-printed-newspaper","tag-sitara-hackney","tag-student-newspapers","tag-the-weather-vane","feature-emu-home-page-feature","feature-myemu-feature","feature-news-feature","feature-news-landing-page-main-feature"],"yoast_head":"\nFirst Amendment freedoms flourish through Weather Vane pages - EMU News<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/first-amendment-freedoms-flourish-through-weather-vane-pages\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"First Amendment freedoms flourish through Weather Vane pages - EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Campus newspaper gives students a voice It\u2019s no secret that print newspapers are an endangered species. Cities as large as Pittsburgh and Atlanta are without printed daily newspapers, as media\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/first-amendment-freedoms-flourish-through-weather-vane-pages\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"EMU News\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/EasternMennonite\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-03-12T12:50:00+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2026-03-12T13:33:20+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/emu-wordpress-multisite-instance-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2026\/03\/11115049\/WeatherVane3.jpeg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1280\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"741\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Ryan Cornell\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@EMU_News\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Ryan Cornell\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"6 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/first-amendment-freedoms-flourish-through-weather-vane-pages\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/emu.edu\/now\/news\/2026\/first-amendment-freedoms-flourish-through-weather-vane-pages\/\",\"name\":\"First Amendment freedoms flourish through Weather Vane pages - 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