Diamond staff gain new campus newsroom

The door plaque may say CL1303, but one look through the glass is all that’s needed to know there’s something new on campus.

Journalism movie posters, a mini fridge, an editor’s desk, tables for working reporters, some soft seating, and each of the Diamond’s 2025-26 issues framed on the wall are a few features of the first newsroom space for the student newspaper.

Student-led since 1957, the Diamond is one of the university’s oldest clubs but the most recent to get a multipurpose, student-focused hub designed for collaboration, copy editing and camaraderie. The space is located in the Classroom Building, across from the Art Department.

“Having this space is changing how students collaborate and elevating the professionalism of the newspaper,” says Lee Pitts, associate professor of communication and journalism as well as the Diamond faculty adviser.

A look back in the archives shows the Diamond has regularly produced about 12 issues each academic school year since its inception almost 70 years ago.

“In all those years, it’s been like the Diamond is just an idea that showed up around campus in print every other week,” says Pitts, who is also the executive director of the World Journalism Institute (WJI). “People often ask, ‘Where is this coming from?’ like it’s materialized out of the mist, but that’s not the case. We have a wonderful team—a growing team—of students working hard to produce a product they’re proud of. Giving them a newsroom really promotes and supports the good work they’re doing.”

Thirteen student names made up the Diamond staff list of the first issue printed Oct. 7, 1957; 43 student names were under the staff list of the Feb. 6, 2026, issue.
Senior Journalism Major Libby Bandelin is one of those current names, along with Senior Logan Steinle, a history and secondary education major. Their leadership has brought tighter deadlines, with more time for copy-editing and design. They have also expanded the print product of news, sports, politics, arts and entertainment, poetry and opinions from eight to 16 pages.

“Having an editor’s desk alone adds a level of formality, but what I love most about having a newsroom is that people will drop in and ask about stories, even share feedback,” Bandelin says. “It also gives us a space for students we’ve recruited to come and meet with us, for us to meet with section editors, to write and to hang out.”

Bandelin has been involved with the student newspaper since she was a freshman.

“As part of my Dordt visit, I was introduced to different clubs I could be a part of,” she says. “I’ve always loved to write so the student newspaper appealed to me. I came to Dordt as undeclared, but being put into a beat reporting class, I knew I had found my calling. I’ve loved seeing how talents for writing can be used to make a difference in the community and on campus and actually see it spark change.”

Media isn’t going away, Pitts says, and Dordt continues to see the importance of equipping thoughtful Christians to work in journalism, communication, and related fields. The growth of the Diamond and its newsroom addition are tangible expressions of that.

“Storytelling is a gift from God,” Pitts says. “We live in a world where many Christians are afraid to enter the media, thinking it’s too against the Christian worldview. But I say what a great mission field it is to jump into, as Christians, to tell stories the right way—in a God-affirming way. Just because it’s a broken profession doesn’t mean we abandon it and reject it. We go in and try to reform it one journalist at a time.”