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Tell us what you think!Send a letter to the editor about this or any other article in The Maine Campus.
In the working world, very few days start off without a cup of coffee and a newspaper. Having one without the other just doesn’t cut it. And a less-than-top-notch version of either isn’t a day at all.
The college campus of the new millennium is no different than the working world, if not more fast-paced. That is why most students will flock to the quasi-Bear’s Den every Monday, Wednesday and Friday for a fresh cup of Black Bear Blend and an even fresher copy of The Maine Campus – a cup of instant joe from the commons and last week’s thrice-read copy of Sports Illustrated just won’t do.
For 125 years the students of this university have inspired the stories that created our history.
The Maine Campus is a peephole into the administration, the vehicle for student opinion and a unifying force on campus.
Serving a campus of 10,000 readers, the paper gives people who normally wouldn’t speak to each other something to talk about.
To stand back and watch people reading the paper is everything to me. When I walk across the Mall and see students sprawled on the lawn flipping through the pages it suddenly doesn’t matter that I was at the office until 4 a.m. that morning.
Those early hours of the morning become a magic time when all the effort comes together and another paper is ready to be printed. There is an energy in that late-night newsroom that cannot be matched anywhere else on campus. There is a camaraderie, a special understanding among a staff of students who prowl Chadbourne Hall in the wee hours of the morning.
That being said, it is important for the population of this university community to know the future of this paper is in jeopardy. This year’s Maine Campus staff inherited a debt of $19,000 and drained much of this year’s working budget in order to pay off those obligations to our printing company.
This debt, coupled with the rising costs of producing a quality paper, will cause The Campus to run out of funds within the next few weeks. Our desire is to raise enough money to keep the paper in production as well as to fund upcoming projects like our move to the Memorial Union.
We cannot do this alone, and we look to the students and the community to help us with this undertaking. The staff at The Maine Campus is producing a free paper for the school community, and we want nothing more than to continue serving the students and staff of the university.
While we work toward approval from the administration to pursue large-scale fund raising, we will begin a campuswide campaign to raise funds and rally support.
With Homecoming weekend fast approaching, The Campus is well into the planning stages of several local fund raising events. Look for upcoming events sponsored by the Maine Campus and watch the pages of the paper for updates and further information.
If you wish to show your support for The Campus or offer your time to our effort, please contact me on FirstClass or call me at 581-1271. Scott Shelton, the Marketing Director, can also be reached at 581-1268.
UPDATE: The marketing director during the spring 2001 semester is Kris Healey. For information, e-mail info@mainecampus.com.
Bangor Daily News