Submission guidelines

The Columns encourages story submissions from students. Articles for submission must be original, well-written and carefully edited before submission.

What to Submit

The Columns accepts multiple types of content:

  • Opinions
    • Students can submit their opinions on campus news, recent events or other topics of interest.
    • These pieces should reflect the author’s own opinion about the subject.
    • Maximum of 700 words
  • Letters to the Editor
    • Students can submit their feedback on Columns’ news stories and provide their own insight.
    • Maximum of 150 words
  • News/News Analysis
    • Any information that is of interest to the student body
    • Minimum of 300 words
  • Photo Slideshows
    • Collection of photographs that tells a story
    • Minimum of six photos

Submission Requirements

  • Interview sources must be named (by first and last name) and contextualized. If a source does not agree to be named in print, his or her name must be provided to the editor, and the writer must provide a compelling explanation for the source’s anonymity.
  • Citations must be from reliable sources. When citing lengthy source material, please hyperlink text to your source.
  • All news and opinion pieces must be accompanied by a photo, infographic or other visual, along with a caption. If a visual cannot be provided, arrangements must be made with the editors prior to publication.

How to Submit

Please send your final submission (attached as a Word document, as well as copied into the body of your email) to columns@westminster-mo.edu. Include your name, contact information and a brief (one-to-two-line) biography, with embedded hyperlinks to your website, Twitter account, etc. The subject line of your email should begin with “SUBMISSION” followed by your article headline.

All submissions are subject to an editorial review process, proofing and possible headline change. Articles may be edited for length, content and clarity before being published.