The Oxford Observer goes on its annual July vacation next week, so this is the last edition you will  see until we resume publication on Friday, Aug. 6. 

The Observer, staffed by students from Miami University’s Department of Media, Journalism & Film, and overseen by faculty members from the department, provides a free weekly online news source about what is going on in this community and the surrounding communities.

The First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution grants freedom to the press in this country because the nation’s founders realized that to be free, the public needed to be informed – informed about what the government is doing and what the citizenry is doing and how those actions affect our lives and well-being.

We try to do that at the Observer, informing you about things that are mundane as well as things that are glamorous, things that are routine as well things that are extraordinary, things that are joyful and things that are heartbreaking. 

We could not do this without the generous support of The Oxford Community Foundation, the Menard Family Center for Democracy, the non-profit Report for Ohio Fund and other donors. 

These donations fund internships and fellowships for our student reporters and copy editors during the summer and January terms. 

We offer the Observer to you for free, but contributions are always welcome. They can be made online to the Miami Advancement office (specify “other,” then “Report for Ohio Fund”) or by check to Miami University Advancement, 725 Chestnut St., Oxford, Ohio 45056, with “Report for Ohio Fund” in the memo line.

–David Wells, editor of the Oxford Observer