UC Berkeley junior Jasper Kenzo Sundeen has been elected as the editor in chief, or EIC, of The Daily Californian for the 2021-22 school year.

Sundeen first joined the Daily Cal in the fall of his freshman year in 2018 and has been a member of the sports department for six semesters, in addition to being a member of the news department for one semester. Sundeen has also worked on the editorial board and was a deputy special issues editor last year. Currently, Sundeen works as a senior staff sports reporter and as a general assignment news reporter.

“The paper’s given me a lot. I’ve really enjoyed my time here,” Sundeen said. “I want to continue to make this a place where people can learn a lot of great fundamental skills professionally, but also meet a lot of fundamentally life-changing people socially.”

Current EIC Sarah Harris said Sundeen is dedicated to the paper and is good at bringing people together. Harris added that she is confident in Sundeen’s abilities and said he is coming into the role with more experience than she had.

Managing editor Amanda Bradford and creative director Alexander Hong also highlighted Sundeen’s dedication to the paper and his ability to create a sense of community.

“He just has that vision and mindset that he can just really utilize moving forward,” Bradford said. “He’s going to make a great EIC, and take the paper in a direction that I’m very excited to see.”

Harris, Hong and Bradford noted that one of the main challenges for the next EIC will be to navigate the return to the office. Harris said this is a challenge no EIC has experienced before. Bradford added that Sundeen has plans to support both returning staffers and staffers who have not worked in person before.

Sundeen’s primary goal is to work toward returning to in-person operations. He said the paper must follow public health guidelines and take into account the needs and safety of staff members.

Sundeen also wants to work on diversity by bringing marginalized voices and perspectives to the paper.

“We’re a communications organization; our job is to inform the community,” Sundeen said. “We need to make sure that we have all voices of the community heard and represented.”

Additionally, Sundeen anticipates working on long-term budget issues, noting that a print-based paper will “inherently” face problems in a modern age. Sundeen also hopes to create more paths for upward mobility within the paper by establishing internal support structures.

Reflecting on the EIC position, Harris said she was nervous when she started, having come from a visual department. However, she learned that she had people who would support her.

“Don’t be too worried about doing things differently,” Harris advised Sundeen. “There will always be someone to support you, whether doing the actual work or someone to lean on.”