Editor's note

When I turned 10 years old, I had a big party.

It seems like after that, no one cared as much about my birthday anymore (check that. I turned 21 a week or so ago. But never mind that now.). There were no more cakes, no more big bashes and all of a sudden everyone seemed to want something more out of me (how does this relate directly to birthday parties? The first two directly have to do with changes in the celebration of your birthday, the third is more abstract. It's a little disconnected to read).

Guess what? recess is officially 11. The party's over.

So now that we're all grown-up-or at least fast approaching puberty-we realize we need to mature as well.

There are several things we have in mind. First, we want to focus more on the campus. That means that if you're in a band, exhibiting art or putting on a play, we want to hear from you. Our new arts calendar on page 3 seeks to be the campus' clearing house for arts happenings every week. With the new calendar and more comprehensive on-campus coverage, we hope to encourage both your involvement in the campus arts and also nurture ours.

The bottom line is that when there's a major arts happening on campus-whether it's put on by Duke Performances, the Duke University Union, Hoof 'n' Horn, Theater Studies or any of the legion of arts organizations on campus, recess will be there. We have not been in the past, and it's time to fix it.

Secondly, we're going to cut down the length of some of our stories. For the past three years, my name has most frequently graced these pages at the top of lengthy Faulknerian screeds masquerading as music features about obscure jazz musicians. I love writing 'em, but who wants to read all that? Starting now, you can look for short, punchy and informative articles and reviews on these pages.

Thirdly? (I don't really like using this, but there needs to be consistency). There will also be a new focus on lifestyle issues-the things that our colleagues in The Chronicle, the grey lady of campus journalism, sniff at: food, fashion, nightlife and sex life. We'll bring them to you both with standard articles and, starting in August, with a handful of the finest columnists to appear in The Chronicle (eat that, Kristin Butler and Stephen Miller). They will all appear alongside the mix of witty, incisive coverage of movies, music and games that you've come to expect (or, for freshmen and jaded readers, will come to expect) from recess.

Editor