Aditi Dholakia
Technician’s Opinion Section is an open platform for all students, faculty, staff and even alumni to utilize in order to express thoughts and opinions about NC State life, culture and events. When submitting to Technician, however, it’s important that writers understand what kind of content they are creating to be published.
There are three types of content that run in Technician’s Opinion Section. Contracted writers on Technician’s staff write Opinion Columns, with a byline of “correspondent,” or “staff columnist.” Columns typically range from 600 to 800 words long, and must relate fundamentally to the NC State community, student experience, culture or even the greater Raleigh area. Opinion columns are labeled as OPINION preceding the title of the column on our website.
Writers in the general NC State community who are not on staff at Technician can submit one of two types of content: an Op-Ed, also known as a Guest Column, or a Letter to the Editor.
An Op-Ed, or Guest Column, could be written by any student, faculty member or alum at NC State University. The length of a guest column is approximately the same as an Opinion Column – 600 to 800 words. The subjects of these columns must still relate back to NC State on a fundamental level, but can be written about whatever the writer desires. Guest columns are labeled as OP-ED, preceding the title of the column on our website.
Conversely, a Letter to the Editor is typically written in response to content that has already been published, whether that’s an Opinion Column or a Guest Column. They are sent directly to the Editor-in-Chief at Technician, regarding something they liked or didn’t like about content published in Technician. These range in length from about 250 to 300 words, and are submitted by any concerned student, faculty member or alum from NC State.
Letters to the Editor are published in the Opinion section, as they are opinions from members of our community. Letters to the Editor are labeled as LETTER TO THE EDITOR, followed by “Regarding…” and the title of the column that the letter is responding to.
We strongly encourage members of the NC State community to use Technician as a medium for fostering critical thinking and dialogue on and around campus. Any questions about submitting to the Opinion section or any of our content can be directed to the Opinion Section Editor or the Editor-in-Chief via email.