Hello everyone, and welcome to Clemson! I’m confident that your next four years will be great, and I thank you for picking up and reading this special Orientation issue of The Tiger.

I serve as The Tiger’s TimeOut editor, overseeing our coverage of local and general arts and culture, ranging from student club and organization events to articles about what’s going on in global art and pop culture.

I can’t believe it’s been almost two years since I arrived at Clemson and joined The Tiger — the time has flown. I wrote my first article for this publication, a review of my favorite movie, in August of 2023, and was elected TimeOut editor at the end of my freshman year.

Joining The Tiger, as well as Clemson’s student-run radio station WSBF-FM, was one of the best decisions I made as a new student at Clemson. I’ve met some of my closest friends and have gotten to experience a wide variety of new things as part of these organizations. I highly recommend that you get involved on campus in any way you can.

It doesn’t have to be student media, though we encourage anyone who’s interested, regardless of major, to join. There are plenty of organizations and clubs at Clemson, tailored to almost every interest.

My goal as TimeOut editor is to publish a wide variety of high-quality articles that inform and entertain. This section provides student perspectives on topics like movies, music and anything else that fits under the umbrella of culture, alongside news about upcoming events and interesting organizations on our campus.

You can find the TimeOut section on pages seven and eight of each regular issue of The Tiger — I hope that you will continue reading our paper, and our section, throughout your years here at Clemson.

Again, welcome, and best of luck!

Thomas Merzlak is the editor of the TimeOut section. He is a junior world cinema major from Florence, South Carolina. Thomas can be reached at [email protected].