About Us
The Massachusetts Daily Collegian is the student-run newspaper at the University of Massachusetts, serving Amherst and the surrounding communities since 1890. As the principal source of news on campus since its founding, the Collegian has operated with the goal of delivering essential information to students and the community in an accurate and timely manner.
The Collegian produces a mix of written reporting and content alongside multimedia projects that includes podcasts, video series and photography. Regular print production was suspended during the COVID-19 pandemic. In 2023, the Collegian published its first print magazine and plans to expand circulation of print editions to several times a year.
The newspaper is composed of four editorial sections,
News — Campus life, spotlight, administration, social justice, politics and international
Opinion & Editorial — Editorials, columns, letters to the editor
Sports — Event coverage, game analysis, athlete profiles
Arts & Living — Entertainment, culture, fashion, art, music, movies and television
The most linguistically diverse college newspaper in the country, the Collegian strives to make stories accessible to everyone in the UMass community. Founded in 2017, the translations department has republished articles in 12 languages: Arabic, Chinese, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Korean, Malay, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish and Vietnamese. Learn more about the history of the department via founder Rebecca Duke Wiesenberg’s piece in The Nation about the importance of multilingual student journalism.
The Collegian has gone by several alternative names throughout its history: Aggie Life (1890), the College Signal (1901), the Weekly Collegian (1914) and the Tri-Weekly Collegian (1956).
Mission Statement
As a student-run newspaper and a responsible press serving the community since 1890, the Massachusetts Daily Collegian strives to be a source of truth that holds itself and powerful institutions accountable. As a public platform, we hope to portray and amplify a broad range of voices. Through nuanced, inquisitive journalistic practices, we hope to educate and engage our community.
Statement of Independence
The Massachusetts Daily Collegian works independently to cover the UMass Amherst and greater Amherst community. As a student-run and operated staff, we strive to provide essential and in-depth information to educate the public of any newsworthy events surrounding the University of Massachusetts Amherst and town of Amherst in the interest of our audience. Thus, we first prioritize the upholding of ethical journalistic practices through our reporting. We use the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics as our guiding set of journalistic standards.
We are committed to an integrous journalistic process from start to finish. This also extends to audience transparency. In this respect, as stories are oftentimes ongoing, the Massachusetts Daily Collegian does its best to update readers on any policy changes, story corrections and other announcements via MDC’s website or social media. In the event of a factual error, we are quick to correct and remedy any errors if we were mistaken with our original, well-intentioned reporting. We encourage you to contact the Editor-in-Chief ([email protected]) and Managing Editor ([email protected]) to discuss any concerns regarding a possible error.
As MDC is an independent organization, we accept opinion submissions from the University of Massachusetts Amherst student body, in addition to letters to the editor from the public upon review from our editors, the content submitted aligns with our policies rooted in truth and public interest. We reserve the right not to publish an opinion submission. Opinion submissions should be 650-850 words at length, and all factual claims must be supported by sources. At the discretion of the editors, disclaimers may be placed on stories such as opinion pieces or columns to state that the opinions of the writer are solely their own.
The Massachusetts Daily Collegian encourages respectful discourse and conversation surrounding any articles or content posted on our website and social media. Our social media comment sections on Instagram, X, Facebook, YouTube and TikTok are spaces in which we encourage such dialogue. The Daily Collegian reserves the right to remove any offensive comments.
Contact Us
Editor-in-Chief, [email protected]
Managing Editor, [email protected]
Creative Director, [email protected]
Business Manager, [email protected]
The Collegian office is located in the lower level of the Student Union building, room 210.
Conduct Statement
The Massachusetts Daily Collegian has a zero-tolerance policy for discrimination or harassment or any kind, including, but not limited to, on the basis of an individual’s race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, gender, sexual orientation, age and ability. We are devoted to promoting an inclusive and positive environment in which all individuals are treated with dignity and respect. If any incidents of discrimination or harassment are experienced or observed in the workplace, please report it to our managing editor at [email protected].
Copyright Statement
The Massachusetts Daily Collegian is a team of professional student journalists that hold certain journalistic rights. All photographic and written work published on the Daily Collegian website is owned by the journalist as well as the publication and are under the copyright protection of both parties. No work on the Daily Collegian website shall be reproduced, adapted, or distributed without the permission of both the creator of the work and the Daily Collegian and without proper attribution. If your work has been republished without permission, please contact our editor in chief at [email protected]