Cosette Gunter named The Miami Student’s next editor-in-chief

Cosette Gunter, junior strategic communication and professional writing double major, has been elected as the next editor-in-chief of The Miami Student.

Gunter has written for The Student since her first semester at Miami. Last fall, she was promoted to Campus & Community Editor. She also serves as the business manager for Inklings Arts and Letters.

One of Gunter’s initiatives is to cultivate a better sense of community within the publication’s staff. She said more people are interested in getting involved in both TMS and other student organizations now that many of the COVID-19 restrictions have been lifted.

“I want to be a person that can foster that engagement that people have now and really create an environment at TMS that is just welcoming and friendly,” Gunter said. “I want everyone to be able to experience the experience I’ve had, which has been very positive. I’ve met a lot of my close friends through the newspaper, so I really hope to foster that kind of environment.”

Gunter said The Student is important to her because it is the main news source for Oxford and Miami.

“We’re operating in a news desert,” Gunter said. “We have a lot of people that come to us and rely on us. We want to be able to serve the Oxford community and the Miami community and make sure that the stories of our community members are being told.”

Gunter also plans to increase communication between different sections and ranks. She said she is looking forward to going into next year alongside the staff.

“I have a really strong group around me of people that are dedicated to the paper and that want to see it grow and blossom, so I’m just really excited to work with everyone,” Gunter said.

Fred Reeder, the faculty adviser for The Student, said while he doesn’t know Gunter very well, he has confidence in the staff electing her.

“As the advisor, I have to put a lot of trust in the students, from the editor-in-chief down to the person who just joined,” Reeder said. “So if they believe she’s the right one, then she’s the right one.”

Current Editor-in-Chief Tim Carlin said he has enjoyed seeing Gunter’s growth within the publication. Gunter is a strategic communication major, so she learned the basics of journalistic writing when she joined The Student.

“It’s been really cool to see her go from someone who really doesn’t have any experience doing journalism or hadn’t really taken any classes, to now running this newspaper next year,” Carlin said.

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Carlin said Gunter will make a good fit for editor-in-chief because of her skills with people and her ability to fight for her beliefs.

“She has that capability to stand up for what she thinks is right and she knows how to speak to people in a way that I think makes them feel seen and makes them feel heard,” Carlin said. “I really think her communication skills are going to serve her well on top of all of her other amazing attributes.”

Gunter selected Abby Bammerlin, junior journalism and political science double major, as her managing editor for the upcoming year. Carlin said he is looking forward to seeing what the future leaders of The Student accomplish.

“I’m so excited to see what Cosette and Abby and the rest of the junior class do with this newspaper,” Carlin said. “I know amazing things are going to come out of their time leading the paper.”

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