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What is The Villanovan?
The Villanovan is the independent student-run news outlet of Villanova University, publishing campus journalism under the tagline "The Student News Site of Villanova University." Its front page mixes reporting and first-person student writing across four standing sections: News, Culture, Sports, and Politics/opinion.
What it covers
- News — campus events and institutional happenings, such as a LePage Center for History in the Public Interest talk by grantee Jamie McGhee.
- Politics and opinion — student columnists writing on elections, the United Nations General Assembly, and climate policy, often in a persuasive first-person voice.
- Culture — lifestyle and student-life pieces, from a freshman fall wardrobe guide to a senior's column about living in Bryn Mawr.
- Sports — game coverage and previews, including Villanova men's basketball's exhibition play against Rutgers.
Who it's for
Current students, faculty, alumni, and prospective families who want a student's-eye view of campus rather than official university communications. The bylines are the tell: staff writers, section editors, and co-editors-in-chief, with recurring columns attributed to named columnists.
How to read it
Treat the opinion and column pieces as student argument, not institutional position — the site publishes both reported news and personal essays side by side, and the distinction rests on the section label and byline rather than any visible editorial note. A reader checking a claim about university policy should look for the News section; a reader curious about student sentiment on an issue will get more from the columns.
For official university information, compare against Villanova University.
How can I submit a story or opinion piece to The Villanovan?
The Villanovan accepts student-written news, features, columns and opinion pieces, but the submission route depends on whether you are covering an event, pitching a one-off argument or joining a section as a regular contributor. The site identifies itself as the student news site of Villanova University, and its published work is bylined to staff writers, section editors and columnists, so the practical path is to contact the relevant editor rather than send a finished draft to a generic address.
What to prepare before you reach out
- A short pitch, not the full piece. State the topic, your angle and why it matters to Villanova readers now. For an opinion piece, make the argument explicit in two or three sentences.
- Your connection to the story. Editors need to know whether you are a student, a witness, an organizer or someone with relevant expertise.
- Reporting you can supply. Names, dates, documents, quotes or a clear plan for getting them. Opinion pieces still need a factual basis.
- A realistic length and deadline. Most student columns run in the range of a few hundred to roughly a thousand words; ask the section editor for the target.
- Your byline details. Full name, year, school or major, and preferred contact.
Which editor to contact
| Your piece | Best first contact | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Campus news, events, meetings, announcements | News editor | News runs on timeliness and verification |
| Sports, club teams, recaps | Sports editor | Section editors assign and edit to house style |
| Arts, food, campus life, personal essays | Culture editor | Culture handles features and first-person writing |
| Political or social argument | Opinion or political editor | Columns are commissioned and edited as arguments |
| Letter responding to a published piece | Editor-in-chief or the writer's editor | Letters usually run shorter and may be edited for length |
A concrete example
Suppose you want to argue that Villanova should expand late-night dining options. A weak pitch says, "I want to write about dining." A workable pitch says: "I'm a sophomore in Stanford Hall; the only late-night option within a 10-minute walk closes at 9 p.m., and I've collected three student quotes and the posted hours for four locations. I'd like to write an 800-word opinion piece arguing for a pilot late-night window, and I can file within a week." That gives the editor a hook, evidence and a deadline.
Practical checkpoints
- Read several recent pieces in the section you are targeting, including the bylines, so your pitch matches what the section actually publishes.
- Expect editing. Student newsrooms edit for accuracy, length, libel risk and house style; a good editor will push back on unsupported claims.
- Disclose conflicts. If you are writing about a group you belong to, a professor you work for or a business you use, say so in the pitch. It does not disqualify you, but it changes how the piece is handled.
- Do not send the same pitch to several editors at once. Pick the section that fits, and let that editor route it if it belongs elsewhere.
- If you are responding to something already published, reference the headline, author and date so the editor can find it immediately.
For general guidance on student journalism submissions, the principles at Society of Professional Journalists are a useful standard for accuracy and fairness, and The Villanovan itself is the place to confirm current section names and editor contacts before you pitch.
What are the latest headlines from Villanova Men's Basketball?
The latest Villanova Men's Basketball headline on The Villanovan is "Villanova Men's Basketball Opens Up Exhibition Play Against Rutgers," written by Co-Editor-in-Chief Dylan Johnson. The piece is a road-dateline report from Piscataway, New Jersey, and it frames the exhibition as the first action since the Wildcats' season ended in the first round of the NCAA Tournament — a gap the writer notes feels like only weeks rather than months.
Who this is for
- Villanova students and alumni tracking the team between the tournament exit and the new season.
- Big East followers who want a campus-paper read on the roster's first live test.
- Rutgers fans looking for the other side's framing of the same exhibition.
How to use it
Treat the exhibition as a low-stakes audition rather than a verdict: coaching staffs use these games to sort rotations, test lineups and shake off rust, so the useful signals are who starts, who plays heavy minutes and how newcomers look — not the final margin. If you want the broader campus context around the team, the same sports section sits alongside news, culture and opinion coverage at The Villanovan. For official schedules, rosters and postgame material, go to the athletic department's own site rather than a student publication.
Where can I find The Villanovan's coverage of campus events and student life?
The Villanovan's campus and student-life coverage lives on its own student-run news site at The Villanovan. The homepage stream is the fastest entry point: it mixes news, culture and sports, with student-life pieces sitting mainly under the Culture section and campus announcements under News.
What you'll find where
| Section | Typical student-life content |
|---|---|
| Culture | Fashion and seasonal guides, off-campus life in nearby towns, personal essays on student routines |
| News | Campus center events, guest talks and grants, university announcements |
| Sports | Game coverage and previews, including exhibition play |
| Opinion | Student columns on politics, climate and campus concerns |
A practical example: a freshman planning a fall wardrobe search would go to Culture and find pieces like a freshman-focused fall fashion guide; someone wanting to know what happened at a campus history-center talk would check News instead.
How to use it
Start with the section matching your intent rather than scrolling the whole homepage, and note the bylines — staff writers, columnists and section editors — since recurring columnists are the quickest way to follow a beat you care about. For official university event calendars and administrative announcements, cross-check Villanova University, because a student paper reports on events rather than serving as the events listing itself.
How does The Villanovan cover political and social issues affecting Villanova students?
The Villanovan covers political and social issues less as a single "issues desk" and more as a mix of student opinion columns, reported campus news and regular political commentary. Its student writers tend to start from personal experience and then widen the frame, so a column about an unseasonably hot October can become an argument about climate voting, and a piece about political fatigue can become a call to participate anyway.
What the coverage looks like
- Opinion and columns. Writers argue positions on national and global topics, often framed by how they affect students: frustration with elections, whether the United Nations still matters, and climate change as a voting issue.
- Campus news. Reported items cover events and speakers at Villanova, such as a talk hosted by the Albert LePage Center for History in the Public Interest.
- Political roundups. A recurring political column tracks developments in Washington and translates them for a student readership.
- Student life and culture. Social questions show up through everyday material — seasonal wardrobe, off-campus life in Bryn Mawr, burnout and the pressure to be productive.
How to read it
The strongest use case is a student who wants a Villanova-specific take on a national story, or a prospective student trying to gauge what campus conversation actually feels like. Treat opinion columns as arguments by named student writers, not as the university's position or as neutral reporting. For straight campus news, the reported pieces are the better starting point; for context beyond Villanova, compare with a national student outlet or a major paper.
A practical next step: pick one issue you care about, read the opinion column and the reported news item on it side by side, and note where they agree on facts and diverge on framing. That gap is usually the most useful thing the site offers.
What subscription or membership options does The Villanovan offer?
The Villanovan does not appear to offer any paid subscription or membership tiers. It presents itself simply as the student news site of Villanova University, with its homepage surfacing current articles across News, Culture, Politics, and Sports rather than promoting reader plans or gated access.
What that means in practice
- Reading is free and open. The stories shown—election commentary, UN coverage, campus culture pieces, and men's basketball reporting—are displayed as standard news content, not as previews behind a paywall.
- No reader account is needed for access. There is no evidence of a login requirement or member-only section; the site functions as a publicly readable publication.
- Payment infrastructure is not the same as a subscription. The presence of a payment platform on the site does not by itself indicate a reader subscription product; it could relate to donations, advertising, or other transactions.
A useful next step
If you want to support or stay connected with student journalism at Villanova, look for newsletter sign-up, social media follows, or contribution/donation options on the site itself, since those are the typical ways a free student paper engages its audience. If you are specifically looking for a paid membership, check the site's footer or "About" pages directly, as any such program would be listed there rather than on the homepage.
For comparison, university student newspapers generally fall into two models: fully free and ad- or university-funded (which appears to be the case here), or free with an optional paid membership that adds perks like print delivery or event access. If The Villanovan were to add the latter, it would likely be announced as a distinct section rather than folded into ordinary news coverage.
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