Third-years Eva McCord and Kayla Rubenstein will become co-editors-in-chief of The Chicago Maroon, and fellow third-years Anushree Vashist and Zachary Leiter will become managing editor and deputy managing editor, respectively, per election results finalized on Sunday, February 4.
The four incoming executive board members ran on a platform prioritizing holistic coverage of campus and the South Side community, bolstering writer retention, and maintaining The Maroon’s welcoming environment. All the elections were uncontested.
“What makes The Maroon so special is the people who make it thrive: from parsing out an obscure grammar consideration with the copy editors to being all hands on deck with the news team, and gossiping about the latest athletic news with sport, my experiences with each section have only bolstered my belief that The Maroon offers a place for people from a variety of backgrounds to converge and grow,” Rubenstein said in her speech.
Rubenstein and McCord will replace fourth-years Nikhil Jaiswal and Solana Adedokun, while Vashist will replace fourth-year Michael McClure. Leiter will assume the position of deputy managing editor, a newly restored title.
Rubenstein, McCord, Vashist, and Leiter all joined The Maroon in the fall of 2021. Rubenstein served as a copy chief, news editor, sports editor, and member of the editorial board before being elected co-editor-in-chief. She most notably spearheaded The Maroon’s coverage of UChicago’s clandestine abortion ring.
McCord served as a sports editor, head of the Viewpoints section, and member of the editorial board. During her time at The Maroon, McCord most notably spearheaded a special insert for The Maroon that highlights the experiences of first-generation and low-income students on campus. Her illustrations have also been published on the paper’s cover and interior pages.
“I will work to ensure that The Maroon is always an example of how journalism can empower UChicago students from all backgrounds in the face of this very unequal campus,” McCord said in her speech. “I will work to ensure that The Maroon is where staffers not only find their own voice but take pride in working in service to this campus and to Hyde Park. The ultimate service of being a journalist [is] to give others the space to share their story.”
Vashist served as a news editor, design editor, associate copy editor, and member of the editorial board, while Leiter served as a head arts editor, viewpoints illustrator, DEI board member, and news and Grey City reporter. The two hope to expand coverage, improve writer retention, create an alumni directory, and strengthen section integration.
“I’ve talked a lot about expanding content, but how do we do that? In some ways, I think we need to dedicate more time to generating new ideas,” Vashist said in her speech. “Often, we write pitches in isolation, but we’ve seen time and time again that cross-section collaborations can close some of the gaps in our coverage.”
The Maroon also re-elected third-year and current chief production officer Allison Ho. Ho hopes to build on her goals from last year and continue to expand The Maroon’s print design catalogs.
Third-years Kaelyn Hindshaw and Nathan Ohana were elected chief financial officers of The Maroon, replacing fourth-years Dylan Zhang and Astrid Weinberg. Hindshaw and Ohana pledged to adjust their strategy to accommodate a post-COVID media landscape and protect The Maroon’s long-term financial future.
