On Sept. 10, 1969, an experiment in student journalism began on this campus. It was an alternative voice aimed at challenging common ideology. It sought to report legitimate news from all over the city, refusing to limit itself to just Bascom Hill. It gravitated toward libertarian approaches in attacking societal problems. It recorded and cast the street-claiming Vietnam War protests of Madison in new light. At its foundation, it was an end to the monopoly of student reporting at the University of Wisconsin.

The experiment was The Badger Herald.

In three-and-a-half decades since our first issue, we’ve grown from a weekly conservative fish-wrap to the nation’s largest fully independent student daily and the most award-winning student newspaper in the state of Wisconsin. Though we’ve shed the alternative tag, the commitment remains essentially the same, and we pledge a continual devotion to this university, community and to the development of student journalists.

We are indebted to so many different people and institutions for their help throughout the years. We would not be here today if not for the many people who have spent their blood, sweat and tears in paving the way for what we do. For this, we are forever grateful. We also owe the University of Wisconsin and the city of Madison a substantial debt of gratitude for the way they have come to accept us and aided us through the years.

Finally, we owe our greatest debt to our readers. We would not be well into our fourth decade without you. Every day we pile into this office with the sole purpose of better serving our readers. Please keep reading. Please keep sending us letters and e-mails. Please never stop. This paper is as much yours as it is ours. Do not let us ever forget it.