Mission Statement

The Eastern Echo informs the Eastern Michigan University and Ypsilanti community by highlighting newsworthy content in a fair, accurate and timely manner.

About The Echo

First called The Normal News when it was founded in 1881, The Eastern Echo has served the Eastern Michigan University and Ypsilanti communities as an independent student newspaper for more than 140 years. The Echo distributes weekly printed editions on campus and throughout Ypsilanti during the fall and winter academic semesters, and publishes year-round online.

Launched as a monthly newspaper, The Echo grew in circulation and frequency, moving to publishing three times a week beginning in the 1970s. While the print edition was suspended briefly in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic when the university canceled all in-person activities, the student media team continued to publish through The Echo website. Print editions resumed in the fall of 2021.  For a glimpse at the newspaper's history, visit this timeline created on the Knight Lab website: History of The Eastern Echo.

Winter 2026 Editorial Board

Editor-in-Chief: Natalie Kyle, editor@easternecho.com 

Managing Editor - News: Lilly Kujawski, news@easternecho.com

Managing Editor - Operations: Gray Connor, managing@easternecho.com

Sports Editor: Ruby-Jane Brannon, sports@easternecho.com

Arts Editor, Cellar Roots Editor-in-Chief: Jada Hauser, cellarroots@easternecho.com

Graphics Editor: Rylee Curley, design@easternecho.com

Photo Editor: Max Taylor, photo@easternecho.com

Marketing Director: Gabriella Payeur, advertising@easternecho.com

Print Design Editor: Zeinab Agbaria, digital@easternecho.com

Copy Desk Chief: Allie Beecher, copyeditor@easternecho.com

Got a news tip?

Send your news to: news@easternecho.com

Getting Involved

Interested in joining The Echo?

Go to the jobs page or contact the managing editor with any questions.

Subscribe to our weekly newsletter

Get all the news, and the weekend events, delivered to your inbox by signing up for The Eastern Echo newsletter. It's as simple as providing your inbox information on our newsletter form.

Need advertising information?

Visit the advertising page for more information, where interested advertisers can fill out an inquiry request. Inquiries can also be made by contacting our business manager at advertising@easternecho.com or Student Media Director Christine Uthoff at advisor@easternecho.com.

The Echo offices in King Hall are always open to members of the Ypsilanti community. Stop by for a chat and see the faces behind the newspaper.

What does independent mean?

Per Eastern Michigan University regents' policy and board practice, The Eastern Echo newspaper and other student-created media in the Department of Student Media operate independently in order to provide editorial freedom for the student editors. The Student Media Board of Directors provides oversight, and the director of Student Media administers the department on behalf of the board. The university and/or university administrators or officials do not dictate, preview, vet or veto content in the student-created media. All Echo employees are required to be at least part-time students at the university. The only full-time staff member is the department director who advises the editors and staff but does not exercise prior restraint on content matters. The director also oversees the day-to-day operations, including advertising sales, and implements department policies and procedures.

Director of Student Media Christine Uthoff can be reached at advisor@easternecho.com or 734-487-1935.

Letters to the editor

The Eastern Echo accepts letters to the editor from our community, which includes Eastern Michigan University, Ypsilanti and Ypsilanti and Superior Townships. The Echo reserves the right to reject any letter. Letters containing personal attacks against individuals or inappropriate or illegal material will be automatically rejected.

To be considered for publication, letters must follow these guidelines:

• 300 words or less in length
• address an issue of interest to The Echo's audience
• include the writer's name, hometown, email and telephone number (email and telephone numbers will be used to verify content and will not be published)

Send letters to editor@easternecho.com.

Reader Comments

The Eastern Echo encourages readers to participate in dialogue on the news and information presented on The Echo's website and social media posts by leaving comments. Not all reader comments will be published, and some comments, after publication, will be removed if they are deemed offensive, off-topic, inflammatory or spam by the editors.

Reader comments that will be removed from The Echo site and social media posts include but are not limited to:

• Hate speech or personal attacks
• Comments intended to incite violence
• Commenter pretending to be someone else
• Plagiarized comments or copyright infringement
• Spam and advertising

The editors do not pre-screen reader comments. Therefore, some unacceptable comments may appear online briefly until reviewed and removed by an editor.

Readers who feel a comment is unacceptable for any of the reasons stated above are encouraged to click on the “Flag for moderation” link below the comment and alert the editors. Readers are also encouraged to contact the editors directly by email at the addresses listed above.

Find a print edition

The Eastern Echo distributes print editions throughout the Ypsilanti area. News stands can be found at a number of on- and off-campus locations, including:

On campus locations:

• Alexander Hall
• Boone Hall
• Ford Hall
• Halle Library
• The Honors College
• King Hall
• Mark Jefferson Science Complex
• Marshall Building
• McKenny Hall
• Pierce Hall
• Pray-Harrold
• Sherzer Hall
• Student Center
• Roosevelt Hall
• Porter Building
• Rackham Hall
• Rec/IM
• Sill Hall
• Strong Hall
• Judy Sturgis-Hill Building
• Welch Hall

Off-campus locations:

• Basil Babe, 701 W. Cross St.
• Blackstone Book Store & Cultural Center, 214 W. Michigan Ave.
• Benito’s Pizza, 1088 N. Huron River Drive
• Biggby Coffee, 1510 Washtenaw Ave.
• Bridge Community Cafe, 217 W. Michigan Ave.
• Cafe Liv, 202 N. Washington St.
• Chef Restaurant Mediterranean Grill, 1098 N. Huron River Drive
• Cottage Inn, 2407 Washtenaw Ave.
• Domino's Pizza, 953 Washtenaw Ave.
• Eagle Crest Conference Center, 1275 S. Huron St.
• Eagle Crest Golf Clubhouse 1275 S. Huron St.
• Golden Egg, 2660 Washtenaw Ave.
• Insomnia Cookies 733 W. Cross St.
• Lucky Garden, 1072 N. Huron River Drive
• Northern Grind, 317 W. Cross St.
• Peninsular Place, 1000 N. Huron River Drive
• Sweetwaters Coffee & Tea, 735 W. Cross St.
• Sidetrack Bar and Grill, 56 E. Cross St.
• Subway, 1094 N. Huron River Drive
• Thompson & Co., 400 N. River St.
• Ypsilanti City Hall, 1 S. Huron St.