A fresh online news source is making its way to Cedar Falls. Odyssey, an exclusively digital news platform designed specifically for and by college students, will now be available to UNI students.

According to the Odyssey website, the idea spawned from two Indiana University students who felt their need for a college-friendly and accessible news resource was not being met.

The website describes itself as a “social content platform that crowdsources ideas from millennial thought leaders in their local communities.”

The website claims that after launching in 2014, Odyssey has seen rapid growth and is projected to have a presence in 450 communities by the end of this year.

Although the publication initially began as a print source, it is now strictly available on digital platforms and is most widespread through social media.

Joseph Whittemore, a senior social science teaching major, will serve as Editor In Chief for the Odyssey’s UNI community.

According to Whittemore, a friend who writes for the Odyssey at Columbia University shared her articles on Facebook, which sparked an idea. Whittemore applied to be a writer and was contacted by Odyssey to let him know that there was not currently a branch at UNI. When asked by headquarters if he would like to start a UNI Odyssey community, Whittemore obliged.

“It’s not just a news source,” Whittemore said. “It’s a way for millenials to voice their opinion on things that matter most to them, and I think that’s pretty cool.”

Odyssey is a typical mix of both serious and fluff stories, written solely by college students.

According to Whittemore, Odyssey writers have free reign to write about topics of their choosing within different categories, such as lifestyle, ideas, or short essay, with the content left up to the writer.

For Brianna Miller, junior communications major, the news source is welcomed, so long as it stays lighthearted.

“I just hope it doesn’t get political. We have the Northern Iowan for that,” said Miller. “I would rather just read something that’s not trying to get me to go one way or the other.”

When on the Odyssey website’s main page, the search bar asks the question, “What are you interested in?” Searches such as “politics” or “climate change” yield many results, but so do searches such as “Miley Cyrus” or “kittens.”

Compensation varies from community to community. As of now, UNI writers will be compensated with $20 gift cards for their work. Whichever writer has the most views for that week’s articles will receive a gift card. There are currently 15 writers for the UNI Odyssey team, but Whittemore says they are looking to hire more.

“In the past two months, [the Odyssey] has grown exponentially,” said Whittemore. “It used to be 200 schools across the nation, and now it’s reaching 2,000.”

Many UNI students are already familiar with the news source and have seen featured articles on social media outlets, namely Facebook, for the past several months.

“I enjoy reading the articles that I’ve seen. They kind of give you a little giggle every day,” said Miller.

For any students interested in becoming an Odyssey writer, visit theodysseyonline.com to apply.