From 1922 to 2018, The Observer has noted at least 10 large-scale renovations done on Old Main, a building easily credited as the heart of Augustana College.
Just like Old Main has been in the past, we are in a period of transition and renovation. This is a new year for the Observer, and we hope you’ll join us in welcoming some new changes in the way we tell your stories. In order to appeal to contemporary standards, we’ve decided to redesign our paper to match the way your eye receives news. That means the rest of our issues this year will be in tabloid format: just the right size to hold in your hand, open like a book and fit in your bags.
We’ve increased our attention to presenting graphically interesting information that helps you digest details in a visual way. Moreover, we’ve also changed operation strategies in the newsroom, so you can still expect a strong publication with a renewed focus on the following goals: unity, ambition, and community.
No matter the changes on the outside, be they the newest remodel in 2013 or even the famous Augie dome in 1893, the cornerstone of Old Main has remained the same.
We like to think we share that same cornerstone. Sometimes there might be little patches of caution tape that you don’t understand, and sometimes you might not like the steepness of the stairs that lead you to your classes.
But we’re still the same on the inside.
We’ve got the same dedication to truthful, compassionate coverage of hard-hitting, entertaining and relevant stories that matter to you. We have the same passion for news as we did in December of 1902, when the only ones who wrote for the paper were Swedish immigrant males.
We are very excited for this period of renovation and we hope that you will continue to enjoy the cornerstone of the Observer presented in our new and revised format.
We are not going to stop reporting. We are not going to stop investigating. We are not going to stop telling the stories that need to be told. We are the Observer, and we are not going to stop listening to you.
Photo at top: The cover of the first Augustana Observer issue in December of 1902, courtesy of Augustana Special Collections. Historical information from Special Collections.