We Belong to No One but Ourselves.

Harvard doesn’t own our office. The 24-hour news cycle doesn’t constrain our coverage.  Our editorials aren’t restricted to any fixed ideology. In 1969, student protests underscored an emerging need to break away from the openly-biased press environment of the time. And so, the Indy was born. We were founded by a group of undergraduates who have gone on to write for many of the nation’s greatest papers and found influential media outlets. Since then, we have proudly provided a counterpoint to the prevailing opinions and a writing style that digs deep into every issue.

We aren’t just chasing the headline. You know what happens on campus already. We do what group chats, posters, and the rumor mill can’t: every Thursday morning, we tell you not only what happened, but why. And when we do straight factual coverage, we do our best to keep it interesting. There’s lots that happens on campus and off, and we make sure to cover the off-beat, the strange, and the wonderful obscure.

We pull this off thanks to our faith in good journalism arising from a free environment. We publish only once a week so we never have to rush our writers. Good investigation and thoughtful writing takes time, as do explorations into media beyond simply walls of text. Our illustrators and photographers consistently find the perfect way to drive a writer’s point home, and we let their creative intuition take the reins.

No group of sages should be able to decide who does and doesn’t qualify as a journalist. From the moment you start our 8-week comp, you are encouraged to pitch pieces, make suggestions, attend general meetings, and do real, important journalism. We won’t force you into a house style; we’ll work with you to develop your unique voice so that it can best say what only it can say. In the fall and spring semesters, you are able to comp editorial, design, operations, business, or technology.  As soon as the comp is over, you’re welcome to apply for a spot on our board. The Independent does not believe in excluding people. If we belong to no one, how can we tell anyone that they don’t belong with us?