Attention Cornerstone! Does something look different about The Herald? With a bigger size, all renamed sections, bright, revitalized colors and various additional fonts and features, this is your new student newspaper.

The Herald’s adviser, Alan Blanchard, assistant professor of journalism, explained that he arranged for Krista Babbitt of the Holland Sentinel to redesign the paper for the students.

“Because the student newspaper is a newspaper that primarily serves the students,” Blanchard said, “we want it to reflect the interests of the students themselves.” He said the only initial change he and Babbitt had in mind was to change the paper’s size from its original tabloid size to a size called broadsheet, which most public newspapers use.

“It really jumps out,” Blanchard said, referring to the new look. “People are going to be really surprised.”

Babbitt described how students got involved in the redesign process. “I sat down with a group of students who were in the graphic design class and asked them what they wanted to see in their student newspaper,” she said. “I sent them to their roommates, friends, students and co-workers, and had them report back to me.”

That was last September. Since then, Babbitt, with the help of the graphic design class and The Herald staff, has recreated The Herald section by section. Now there are features such as student and staff spotlights, fact boxes, recipes, more news briefs and a community calendar.

“I hope they find it easier to use… [and] are more encouraged to read their student newspaper,” Babbitt said. “It’s such an important part of any community. Hopefully the design draws them in and makes them want to [read it].”

Laurie Hekman, The Herald managing editor, said one aspect of the paper especially pops out. “I think [students will love] seeing the faces of their fellow students and peers and classmates,” she said. “I think [they will enjoy] seeing … more stories that relate to them as students.”

Along the same lines, Sarah Heth, assistant managing editor, said that the community calendar on the back page will be helpful for students. “It was something that was lacking in the newspaper before,” she said. “I really like how you can just at-a-glance see what’s going on around campus.”

Blanchard said the paper will serve students overall, especially the students majoring in journalism. “I thought that with the recent introduction of the journalism major,” he said, “it would be helpful to have students working on a paper that would more closely mirror what they would be working on when they graduate.”

Heth summed it all up. “It’s something that the students will have,” she said, “for years and years to come.”