“2011: The Year of Global Indignation,” read a retrospective article published in the Financial Times. Similar headlines broke across a wide range of publications as the year came to a close. If the media is any indication, it would seem that 2011 entered the popular vernacular as “the year of revolutions.”

Here at Guilford, we were also thinking about change. As an institution we define ourselves by our social engagement. But how often do we live up to those expectations, and where do we fall short?

The Guilfordian has sought new avenues to deepen our commitment to social justice in the 2011-12 school year. Our outlet has been GuilCo SoJo, the social justice journalism blog that we introduced last December.

When we first began GuilCo SoJo, the intentions of the blog came under scrutiny. People asked how social justice journalism could be objective. People asked why we needed a separate site to address social justice articles. “Isn’t every story a social justice story, especially at Guilford?,” it was asked. We took these questions to heart. We in turn scrutinized our intentions.

In response to these questions we developed an expanded mission for the blog. Rather than setting up the blog as another platform to post articles (albeit articles related to social justice) we attempted something much more ambitious: to create a news site that also develops and deepens community.

On the surface, GuilCo SoJo is a blog that deals with social justice stories, but it is much more. The blog is a forum to explore how we can redefine our sense of community by changing the way we tell stories. It is a space to share ideas and open dialogue. From readers voting on the banner to posting information about upcoming events, GuilCo SoJo is meant to be a place for you: the reader.

Now the year is coming to a close, and though we are proud of our progress, we are equally aware of how much more work needs to be done. We hope that next year will see an increase in community participation as we continue to work towards making GuilCo SoJo as reflective of our readers as possible. We hope you will join us in making GuilCo SoJo a place that reflects the needs and passions of our community.