Check out our new Opinion front

When you pick up a paper, the first thing you see is the front page, what we call "P1." It contains the day's most important news and is generally arranged with the most relevant story at the top and the most visual story in the middle, called a centerpiece. This evolution is widely accepted to be the best way to present you the most important news in a way that is easiest on the eyes.\nTypically, research shows the next page you flip to is the first page of the second section, known to us as the "front." The "front schedule" at the IDS is fairly set: ArtsExtra is Thursday, Sports runs Monday and Friday and Health & Science and Business alternate for Tuesday's slot. Until this semester, "Features" ran on Wednesday. Features are typically longer stories with a more laid-back feel to them. In my opinion, the Features section has existed solely to place stories that could have fit in other sections but were a little longer. This semester, we're changing it up.\nWe will still run features stories, but they will be handled by the other desk editors and will run as centerpieces more often. In Wednesday's "front" slot, we're giving the Opinion page its due respect. \nMany newspapers across the country run Opinion fronts, often called "Forum" or "Editorial." The new front will give our Opinion editors, Cordell Eddings and Tony Sams, a chance to show off their creativity in evaluating current social issues that matter to you. We'll pit columnists against one another to debate current topics, bring visuals to our staff editorials and just add some color to a page many of you read before the others. \nToday is the first day of our Opinion front, so turn to page 9 and see our analysis of the major race-related issues of the past year. \nAnd tell us what you think. The point of this column is to provide transparency, or allow you more insight into how our paper is run. The best way for you to have more influence on the paper is to write us and let us know how you feel. We try to be open-minded, so give us your best shot.