Hi, everyone, and welcome to Clemson! My name is Thomas Merzlak, and I am the editor of The Tiger’s TimeOut section, which covers local and general arts and culture. I joined The Tiger at the beginning of my freshman year, and this coming semester will be my first full semester as TimeOut editor.

When I attended the first Tiger interest meeting last August, I immediately knew TimeOut was the place for me. I have always loved writing, and the multiplicity of topics we cover in TimeOut appealed to me. As a world cinema major, I was excited by the prospect of writing film reviews, but as time went on, I found myself becoming more involved than I originally anticipated.

Since joining The Tiger, I have reviewed not just movies but also albums, the Oscars, campus events and a grocery store. I love the TimeOut section because it provides both our reporters and our readers with opportunities to discover new and exciting things happening around campus and around the world — last semester, for example, one of our writers wrote a few stories while studying abroad in Ireland.

I hope that you will enjoy reading our work in the TimeOut section, found on pages seven and eight in each issue of The Tiger. We have something for everyone, whether you need book recommendations, music reviews or information on the Clemson area’s best outdoor spots.

Thomas Merzlak is a sophomore world cinema major from Florence, South Carolina. Thomas can be reached at [email protected].