Op-Ed Submissions

Did something on campus get you fired up? Did you see something on the news that made you angry? Did a comment your friend make get you thinking? Have something to say about it? Submit an op-ed to the Michigan Daily's Opinion Section!

But before you submit an op-ed, here are some important guidelines we ask you follow so we can publish your piece!

*Pieces that haven't followed these guidelines into account might be harder to publish

If you want your piece to be published on a specific day, please give us as much advanced notice as possible and do not expect we will publish a piece if you submit a piece we’ve never seen the day you want it published. Our articles go through extensive rounds of editing over multiple days and we only publish content during nights of production (Sunday through Thursday when students have classes). The only exceptions would be if an event just occurred you could not foresee, and even then there is no guarantee we will be able to publish it. If you do submit the day of, you need to be especially sure you’ve followed the guidelines we have here.

Formatting your op-ed:

1. Op-eds are between 600-850 words
• You can also submit Letters to the Editor (less than 300 words), but those are in response to pieces written on the Opinion page - they are not simply shorter versions of op-eds
2. Please send your op-ed to tothedaily@michigandaily.com as a Google Doc in Times New Roman, 11 point font, single-spaced and include your affiliation to the University (ex. Junior in LSA, part of the class of '65, etc.) and include a possible TITLE (should be short because long ones don't fit in print)
3. Short paragraphs of 3-4 sentences (it looks much better on the print page)

Contents of your op-ed:

1. Op-eds can be about nearly anything, and some of the best op-eds have personal anecdotes as well as facts (for more concrete ideas, take a look at previously published op-eds online here)
• Keep in mind that this is first and foremost a newspaper geared toward a college audience, so the best op-eds are ones that you feel would be relevant to college students, alumni and people in the Ann Arbor and greater Michigan community
• If it's about a huge breaking event, for example, make sure you're adding something new to the conversation and not merely echoing something that's been published, especially by the Daily
2. Most important: We want to hear from everyone and there is nothing we want more than diverse opinions, but it is important to keep in mind that any piece that targets and/or marginalizes individuals/groups of people will not be considered for publication
• A critique of a policy/someone's handling of an event, comment, etc. is not necessarily the same as targeting/marginalizing individuals/groups
3. We do not publish pieces that are solely advertisements or plugs for events or clubs, unless those events/clubs are resources where community members can get more information on the topic you wrote about if they are interested
4. Op-Eds must include links to articles/documents about any facts/stats included that aren't common knowledge (think history essay standards) as hyperlinks in the piece or in comments
• Copy (our under-appreciated fact checkers) has to verify every quote, factual statement, etc. so it is important that we give them the tools to do so
• Especially when something may be hard to find (ex. A part of a filmed panel/movie)
• If you are trying to cite something that has limited access unless you subscribe, try your best to find it elsewhere that anyone with the hyperlink can access
• If you are trying to cite something that is ONLY accessible to those with a subscription, please AVOID it otherwise we can't fact check it

Still have questions? Don't hesitate to contact Editorial Page Editors Rebecca Tarnopol (tarnopol@umich.edu) and Anna Polumbo-Levy (annapl@umich.edu). We look forward to your submissions!