As most of us recover power, AC and Internet access from the recent thunderstorms, many of us have relied on our smartphones to access the news. A new take on the “water, flashlight, radio” storm kit, the smartphone is our best accessory. Of course, many of us know this and some of you may even be reading this on your smartphone now, confirming my point. However, smartphones aren’t just for instagraming photos of your dinner, they provide us with immediate access to information.

Many people waited with bated breath at the results of Jerry Sandusky’s trial June 22, and even poked fun at the news stations that were too quick to proclaim the news about Obamacare and did so wrongly.

News isn’t about quality or quantity anymore, it seems to be more about speed. Whether it’s wrong or it’s right, it doesn’t matter as long as it’s first.

However, The Towerlight doesn’t run on these agendas. As a non-profit organization, it’s more about equal access to correct information rather than a competition of word counts and hits on stories.

While many newspapers are still succumbing to lay-offs and other effects from budget cuts, The Towerlight remains entirely free. Although it has become easier and faster to access news through Facebook pages and tweets, the price has gone up. Unlimited access to news is only allowed if you pay a monthly fee. The Towerlight prints 10,000 free issues every Monday and Thursday spread throughout the campus and local community and is available in its entirety at thetowerlight.com.

Access to education and information becomes more and more difficult to achieve and seems to be a growing problem. It’s hard to stay in the loop with things if you don’t have unrestricted availability to news. News travels fast, it changes and it’s hard to keep up with. The Towerlight strives to keep its readers updated with campus and local news while staying fully accessible, and will keep doing so throughout the year, and of course, for many years to come. So while you’re suffering through who-knows-how-long without Wi-Fi and air conditioning, remember that your iPad and Kindle battery may die but The Towerlight will leave long-lasting marks on your fingertips forever.