This past year has been monumental for unbound. In October, unbound was approved as a student organization at The College of New Jersey allowing the staff to double in size through increased publicity. Since December of 2002, the number of hits on the site has exceeded 1800. During the week of our last upload at the end of March, nearly 500 people viewed our site. While 95 percent of hits are from Web surfers in the United States, the other 5 percent of hits are from those in countries like England, Sweden, Oman, Italy and more. These are record numbers for unbound showing that our reader base has extended far beyond the campus community.

Since its inception in 1996, unbound has typically only been able to provide two uploads a year to our readers. Since August, unbound has successfully completed three issues with over 50 articles of varying subjects. Our general staff has included writers from Boston University and Duquesne University this year as well. We also created a special Operation Iraqi Freedom section to provide coverage of the war against Iraq. In addition, the past two issues contained “Editor’s Picks,” including the favorite restaurants, movies, books, and musical groups of unbound’s editors. The current issue also features a more interactive unbound. Articles written by foreign correspondents, Lauren Kidd and Erin Earley, include a photo gallery in this issue.

On a personal note, this issue marks the end of my career with unbound as I graduate from The College of New Jersey. Having been involved with the publication since my sophomore year in 2000, I have seen unbound change continuously, growing to meet the needs of our readers and the demands of the online publishing industry. The changes implemented this past year truly illustrate unbound’s desire to represent your life, your voice, your world.

I have seen unbound from a variety of lenses—writing, production, editing and managing—and am proud of the accomplishments unbound’s staff, including writers, editors, photographers and the production crew, have achieved throughout the past nine months. They have truly been a remarkable staff. I am confident that the publication will continue to prosper and suit the needs of those who read unbound in the future.

David Brinkley once said, “A successful person is one who can lay a firm foundation with the bricks that others throw at him or her.” This year has been marked by experimentation and risks. And each of those involved in the creation of the past three issues have taken a pile of bricks and turned them into the firm foundation that unbound is today. Happy reading to all! And good luck unbound!

--Melissa Steiger, Editor in Chief

If you’re interested in becoming involved in unbound, click here.