On Wednesday, Sept. 11, 30 students gathered in the Voice office at 9 p.m. for the first official meeting of the 2013-2014 academic year. Everyone was excited for the upcoming issue and what they could contribute to Connecticut College’s independent student-run newspaper. A successful day at the Student Activities Fair led to interest from more than 80 students across class years and with a variety of academic and social interests; in particular, editors working the table spoke to many interested freshmen and felt enthusiastic about the upcoming year.
Many of those students comprised the large group that attended our first meeting, which was filled with great conversation and not one, but two kinds of chips. For the first two issues, our only struggle was trying to fit all of the articles we received into the paper. Flash forward two months: our weekly Wednesday night writers meetings have turned into editorial staff meetings, in which we grumble about the lack of student interest on campus, brainstorm ways to coerce people into writing for the next issue and try to finish off those two bags of chips and flat soda. In the past four years, participation at Voice meetings has never been so dismal.
Last Wednesday, we dedicated twenty minutes to speculations on why such a lack of interest developed and how to go about encouraging more student participation. Posters? Pizza? Our first born children? There have been many misconceptions regarding student involvement in the Voice. But we’re here to let you know that anyone and everyone is welcome and encouraged to write for us; it is, after all, the publication of and for the student body as a whole. Even if you’re a graduating senior and have never written before, your opinions are valued, and what is important to you is important to us. Even if you’re a freshman with no experience in student journalism but have ideas and opinions, we’d love for you to contribute.
Connecticut College is not a journalism school, and very few of our own staff members are looking toward careers in the journalism field. Web content editor Fred McNulty ’15 has grand political aspirations, while sports editor Luca Powell ’16 will probably write the next greatest American novel. Who knows? Past editors have attended medical school, law school and have gone on to careers in a wide array of industries. Much like the liberal arts experience, writing in any capacity is an invaluable skill in the real world. Writing for the Voice teaches you how to work under a deadline, how to improve your interviewing skills, how to edit and how to work individually and as a member of a team. With so many perks and so little time commitment involved, it’s surprising to us that not as many people are banging down the door to Cro 215 every Wednesday night, like they did in years past. Our first meeting of the year had people sitting on the floor and standing in the doorway, and we want to see this every week.
A few weeks ago, Dave wrote an editorial lamenting the growth of student clubs on campus, correlating it with a rise in student leaders and a disinterest among the student body to join preexisting organizations. Over the past four weeks, we have seen this phenomenon impact the Voice directly — and negatively. We canceled the issue following Fall Weekend simply because we didn’t have enough articles to fill our 10-page newspaper. We’ve received criticism that we publish too many photographs and illustrations, but what are we supposed to do when we don’t have enough text and we refuse to decrease to an 8-page publication? We’ve lost a tangible interest in the Voice, and as editors, we’re quite curious to find out the reason why.
