Letter from the Editor

A guide to The California Aggie for new and returning UC Davis students

Hi new and returning Aggies,

Welcome to UC Davis!

Whether you’re a freshman who picked up this copy during a long Orientation day or you’re a regular reader of The Aggie, I’m happy you’re here.

The California Aggie is Davis’s sole news publication operated and run entirely by students. We host a team of over 100 editors, writers, photographers, graphic designers, copy readers, layout editors, translators and many more. Our print edition has existed for over a century since its establishment in 1915 as “The Daily Agricola.” Our print archive offers an in-depth history of our campus, highlighting traditions from the first Picnic Day to programs and on-campus efforts that have risen and fallen over the years.

We host seven desks at The Aggie: campus news, features, opinion, arts and culture, science and technology, city news and sports. No matter your specific interests among the seven, I hope that we can become a resource for you to take note of upcoming events on campus and around Davis, connect you to clubs and organizations that are working on projects that speak to you and even lead you to seeing yourself represented in these pages.

Our paper and what it produces has changed significantly over the years, but one thing remains the same: we’re here to keep you aware of and connected to the community you’ve decided to call home for these formative years. Regardless of your stances on journalism as a field (my view on it changes with the seasons, if not more frequently than that) or your relationship with UC Davis, I sincerely hope The Aggie can bring you closer to our college town.

Davis may be small in size, but it can feel daunting or easy to get lost without a community to rely on. I’ve found several here, from The Aggie to KDVS 90.3 FM (Davis’s college radio station) to the Jazz program within the UCD Music Department. Whether you’re a creative type like me or if you’re interested in more scientific research, a university like Davis truly has something for everyone. I hope that The Aggie can point you toward some of these opportunities, through which I hope you can establish lifelong connections and friendships.

Journalism looks very different in 2026 than it has throughout the last century. It has become increasingly difficult to keep a print product afloat, supported primarily by advertisements and rarely other types of funding. This reliance on funding that we don’t receive organically has resulted in outlets complying with stances that feel antagonistic to the principle of journalistic integrity. I have lost a great deal of faith in many publications that I used to rely on, as it grows increasingly clear the extent to which financial interests can dictate how headlines and news coverage twist the reality of events taking place all over the world.

Journalism has championed so many communities all over the world, but it has failed just as many, if not more. This dichotomy is something that weighs heavily on the consciousnesses of nearly all other student journalists I’ve met during my time in college. There is no easy answer to this trend, but it has certainly served as a reminder that the level of journalism that I have the most love for today is the small, localized kind that tries its best to draw communities together rather than polarize them.

Regardless of how this field has changed, I feel strongly that journalism at the local level — particularly at the school level — remains a field of great importance. I have been involved with journalism since my high school years, and it truly can serve as an important resource for the community, especially amidst uncertain times. With an escalating number of roadblocks for students across the board, whether they’re first-generation, international students or just navigating college for the first time, having a resource to refer to for support beyond your immediate community feels like a crucial asset.

Our weekly print edition of The Aggie is released every Thursday at over 30 different locations on campus and throughout Downtown Davis. Newsstands can be found in popular on-campus hubs like the Memorial Union (MU), Teaching and Learning Complex (TLC) and Shields Library. We’ve expanded to downtown as well, and the paper is now featured at local favorites including Newsbeat, Mishka’s and The Avid Reader. When in doubt, visit our website, theaggie.org, for daily articles and our social media pages, @thecaliforniaggie, for newest updates and features.

If you would like to reach out to me, please don’t hesitate to send me an email at editor@theaggie.org. I’m here to answer any and all questions about The California Aggie and make this paper as accessible and representative of our diverse campus as possible. We are always open to suggestions about our coverage, and we encourage it; this paper is, above all else, meant to serve you, the student body. Good luck to all the new Aggies; we’re so excited to have you!

Written by: Zoey Mortazavi — editor@theaggie.org