In the first edition of the Harvard Press, dated Friday, November 24, 2006, the sole editorial congratulated the Bromfield girls cross-country team for its win at the state finals that year. That editorial could have been written this year, as could many of the articles and editorials in the paper’s early editions. The wins keep piling up for the town’s student athletes, all of them recorded and celebrated in these pages. And many of the early news stories have a familiar theme, as well.
So in some ways Harvard hasn’t changed much since 2006. Residents still worry about rising taxes, as they did back then, and department heads still struggle to provide the services people want with the budgetary restrictions they have to live with. The town is still grappling with the question of Devens jurisdiction, while the deadline for settling on a permanent solution grows nearer. Residents still want tax relief from a busy commercial district, but don’t like the traffic that would go with it.
As the Press begins its 14th year of publication this week, the paper is loaded with stories about a new traffic and parking plan in the center of town, along with the related machinations of town officials and vocal critics of the plan. And sharing the spotlight are riveting accounts of championship soccer games and cross-country meets.
“The purpose of journalism is to provide people with the information they need to remain free and self-governing,” Bill Kovach and Tom Rosensteil wrote in their canonical text, “The Elements of Journalism.” That’s been our core mission from the start, but we’ve always thought there’s more to it than that. As we start another volume of the Press shortly before Thanksgiving, we remain grateful for the opportunity to chronicle everyday life in this remarkable community.
