They give the president one hundred days.

The paper? We take it week by week, if not day by day. What did we mess up Monday? Let’s try to aim for better Tuesday. We rubbed a source the wrong way Tuesday; let’s make sure sources know we appreciate them Wednesday.

Still, the first major deadline has passed—week one is over—and the Editorial Board has had time to evaluate the paper’s work and reflect on what the Northern Star does and why we, in particular, do it.

This paper isn’t about putting NIU in a bad light, nor is it about putting the university on a pedestal and pretending it’s perfect.

When the time comes, we ask hard questions, we track down sources, we look at the good, the bad, the black, white and gray areas of life. If we make mistakes, we try and put on our big kid pants and own up to those flaws.

That’s why the Northern Star is following the coffee fund investigation and looking into what preceded the resignation and retirement, respectively, of former NIU employees Robert Albanese and John Gordon.

It’s why we’ll always do what we do, which is reporting the news.

The Northern Star Editorial Board expects transparency from NIU and the government of DeKalb—from everyone and thing, really. We demand the truth because we hope to analyze and report it for NIU’s students and DeKalb’s citizens. Just as we want the best for ourselves, so we want it for our readers.

The paper and its Editorial Board make mistakes. We are students, and we expect the weeks to come will go smoother and result in higher quality papers than did the Northern Star’s first week of this semester.

But the staff will continue to investigate, to look into allegations of employees selling scrap metal, to look into changes with recycling around campus, to follow our university’s sports teams and review musicians who played at the House Cafe, to take photos that showcase local life.

It’s what we do.

This first week was just the beginning.