The beginning of the year brings changes for so many of us; whether you’re starting college for the first time, starting new classes or teaching a new course this year, the start of a new year is a fresh start for us all.

You have a chance to try new things, take a few chances and try to make this year better than the last — and that’s exactly what we’ll be doing this year at The Daily Illini.

We’re back into daily publication starting today, and we’re confident that we will have the best coverage of Illini news, sports, entertainment and everything in between this year. We’d love your help along the way.

Our challenge to you this year is to join the conversation — the campus conversation — that goes on every day. Whether you’re talking about what clubs you joined at Quad Day, what you’re wearing to the first football game, what to do each weekend, or your favorite classes — join in. We’ll be a part of the conversation and will facilitate it throughout the year.

You can join in at our website, DailyIllini.com, where we update you with new stories, photos, videos and audio every day. Comment on our stories to let us know what you think, and you may see your comments on this page as a part of our “Your comments on … ” feature.

Follow us on twitter @TheDailyIllini and on Facebook at www.facebook.com/DailyIllini for more updates and ways to join in. We will respond as well as publish your feedback in the paper.

Be on the look out for any contests or reader submissions requests we put out this year — whether we’re asking for your favorite quick college recipe or what you think of President Hogan’s salary, we care what you think and we want to know.

Join our live chats online during Illini sports events to get up-to-the-minute updates on the game and ask our reporters questions while they’re on the sidelines.

As campus issues arise that are important to you, we’ll strive to bring in experts to chat with online and get your questions answered right away.

We’ll also be blogging live during election time in November, bringing you current results of the local races as well as the winners for Illinois governor and senator.

We’ll be launching a new feature during the first football game the weekend of Sept. 3 called Daily Illini Live. On this new live page you’ll be able to get all your Illini football news from stories to Twitter to our live chat to your submitted Flickr photos — all in one place.

Join in on our Live pages for other events this fall, such as Greek recruitment, the search for a new apartment and any other breaking news. Whatever you’re talking about, we’re there.

And if you don’t see a story you feel is important, let us know at [email protected]. You can even text us at (503) 3TEXT DI.

This is your University. Your news, your sports, your stories, your voice.

Join the conversation.

We’ll talk to you soon.