Editor’s Corner: Liberty Further Extended
Editor-in-Chief
By Ja’lyn Jones
Dear readers,
If the Fall 2025 edition of the Herald declared a “New Age of Xpression,” then for Spring 2026, we take it a step further, for expression without liberty is incomplete. The ability to speak freely, create boldly, and exist unapologetically requires more than visibility, but rather freedom. This issue is grounded in one central idea: Reviving Liberty.
To revive something is not to invent it but instead restore it to what has always belonged to us. In his essay titled Liberty Further Extended, Lemuel Haynes reminds us that true freedom must be universal. There are no selections and conditions that come with it. More importantly, it cannot fully exist if it does not extend to everyone. For Black Americans, including us at Xavier, liberty has always been something we have had to claim, defend, and reassert, even when it was already ours by human right.
It is ingrained in the very fabric of our university. Born as the only Black and Catholic institution in the nation, Xavier was established to create opportunity where there was exclusion. That legacy continues to live through us Xavierites. In addition to becoming beneficiaries of history, we are now participants in its continuation.
In our action to revive liberty, we are simply not asking for something new; we are indicating that freedom, expression, and opportunity are ours to begin with. We are reclaiming space in rooms that were not designed with us in mind. More significantly, we are continuously building rooms of our own that speak volumes to how excellence is being redefined.
As Xavierites, we carry this revival with intention. The increase in education, awareness, and intellectual confidence within our community is present, and there is urgency about knowing our history while also shaping its progression. We are highly aware of the systems around us, and nonetheless, we excel within and beyond them.
For generations, excellence for minorities has often meant survival plus superiority, being twice as good to get half as much. Yet today, excellence is no longer confined to assimilation or outside validation. At Xavier, excellence looks like future physicians conducting groundbreaking research while artists fill stages with original work. It looks like journalists shaping narratives, entrepreneurs launching ventures, and students leading movements across campus and beyond. Excellence is intellectual ownership, cultural authority, and the ultimate confidence to define success on our own terms.
Reviving Liberty means understanding that we are not guests in history; we are authors of it. Every barrier we break strengthens the very foundation for those who follow, and each space we enter shifts what is considered normal and possible.
This edition is more of a declaration than a celebration. We are actively embodying liberty instead of waiting to receive it. Through resilience, excellence, scholarship, creativity, and community, Xavierites continue to defy odds that once seemed impossible. As The Xavier Herald, we pride ourselves on highlighting stories that represent these continuous narratives. Therefore, as you experience this edition, we ask that you join us in the mission of Reviving Liberty.
Signed,
Ja’lyn Jones
Herald Editor-in-Chief
