Among ever-changing classes, majors, living spaces, roommates, friends and jobs, we face plenty of transitions as students. Some of these adjustments are things we expect, but others aren’t.

During your time at Michigan State University, your interests will change. Your goals and aspirations will become clearer. You’ll find your community and grow in ways you never expected.

But that process takes time — and the road is rarely smooth.

As we find our footing in who we are and how we want to impact the world, our university is doing the same. MSU has been in turmoil since many of us stepped on campus. The community is still struggling in the aftermath.

With so much transition and change at every turn, being an MSU student is complicated, no doubt.

But our goal at The State News is to reflect your time at MSU. Our role is to chronicle life on and off campus every single day in order to help you better navigate and understand your world.

That means reporting on issues you care about, changes in our community, things that drive you crazy (looking at you, MSU Parking) and stories you might not find on your own.

The State News is Michigan State’s independent student voice. That word — “independent” — is key. It means we’re legally and financially separate from the university, which allows us editorial freedom in what we report on. With that independence, we’re able to provide fair coverage without influence from the university or other parties.

In the coming year, you’ll continue to see us cover life at Michigan State and the city of East Lansing with the same fervor we always have.

But you’ll also see more localized coverage of national issues, more enterprise journalism and more stories reflecting diverse communities and voices.

You’ll see our storytelling through different mediums, including written articles, video, graphics, photos, podcasts, social media and online at statenews.com.

Balanced and accurate reporting is a priority for us, and along the way, we’ll be conscious of biases and assumptions in our work. We know certain parties are heard more than others, and we invite you to point out stories we might have missed.

Our staff is made up of full-time students trying to balance work, school and a social life — just like you are. While recording what life as a Spartan looks like in the pages of our newspaper, know that we’re trying to navigate it all, too.

At the end of the day, this is a collective experience, and we hope our reporting gives you a greater perspective about the history that’s unfolding at MSU.

As you grow and learn during your time here, we hope you’ll continue to turn to us for information, produced by people who are going through the same things you are.

If you have a story, a question or an opinion you’d like to share with us, please do. Reach out to us at editorinchief@statenews.com. We’d love to hear from you.

Welcome to — or back to — MSU. And know that when you’re looking to learn more about what’s happening here, you can count on us.