Issue 14 – The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College

"The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College - Issue 14 - May 9, 2011 - Front Page"

On top of final exams, papers, and projects, we published our fourteenth and final issue of The Quindecim yesterday. In fact, it was a 24 page issue, our largest of the year. 

It was easily the most strenuous round of layout and production that we’ve ever had. Those layout nights are awful and wonderful at the same time. The only thing running through your head at 3 a.m. is how much you hate being there, yet when you think back on it several days after, you can’t help but smile. Here is a podcast I recorded and produced as my final project for the Writing for New Media class I’m enrolled in. It gives a sense of what those layout nights in the office are like. Take a listen:

We made several mistakes this issue, some of them major and some of them not. People were quick to point them out, which they should be when they see mistakes in their student newspaper. We’re all students though, each passionate about something different, and there’s a way to point out those mistakes in a way that’s considerate and constructive.

And I won’t let those comments leave a sour taste to the end of an incredible year. It’s imperative to note where The Quindecim was last year: lying in the dust. Without a doubt, there’s still mistakes, and there’s still much to improve upon, but look at all it’s become in just a year.

As you hear in the podcast, what’s most important is the lessons learned, friendships formed, and memories made. Be sure to check back for more closing remarks on The Quindecim to come shortly. 

Issue 13 – The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College

"The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College - Issue 13 - April 22, 2011 - Front Page"

Our second to last issue of the year was a collaboration of current editors, soon-to-be editors, and staff, which is what I’d hoped it would be going into it. 

It’s a nice issue overall, although there were several sloppy mistakes that shouldn’t be acceptable on any publication, let alone ours. These were mainly logistical in nature rather than content-related.

There was one mistake, though, that taught us a good lesson: whatever material you publish, no matter how small or insignificant you think it may be, will get read and can be used against you if done incorrectly.

That being said, we’ve got a strong head of steam going into production week of our final issue! I’ll have much more to say when that time comes along. 

Issue 12 – The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College

"The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College - Issue 12 - April 8, 2011 - Front Page"

Congratulations to Missy Ballinghoff and Shay Kettner, next year’s Co Editors-In-Chief of The Quindecim, for successfully putting their first issue to press! 

It’s a complete, twenty page issue full of solid articles. Unfortunately, the pages came out a little light, which was out of our control.

“It’s always a lot of work, but once you have it in your hands, and you see other students reading it, it’s worth it,” said Kettner. “We bonded as Co-Chiefs and we were able to prove that we could keep The Q alive,” added Ballinghoff.

 Their trial work over the past several weeks has proven that The Q is, without a doubt, in good hands next year.

APRIL FOOL’S! Issue 11 – The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College

"The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College - Issue 11 - April 1, 2011 - Front Page

Today we distributed our April Fool’s Day issue of Eht Micedniuq to campus. It was a lot of fun to produce this issue. We deserve a break after all the hard work we’ve done this year.

I’m sure we’ll get some flack from some people on campus, but so far, the feedback has been positive. One person called it “fantastic” and another described it as “wickedly funny and pure genius.”

Lots of people are also laughing about that goofy little boy on the front page. I don’t see what’s so funny.

Issue 10 – The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College

 

"The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College - Issue 10 - March 4, 2011 - Front Page"

Another two weeks, another complete issue of The Quindecim in the books. Layout went extremely quickly this time around. It’s a good lesson on the importance of deadlines. Everything came in early, so we were able to finish a whole day earlier.

I’ve also made it to the interviewing phase of my Senior Honors Thesis project about cases of censorship among student newspapers on College and University campuses, so I’ve had the chance to speak with some other current and former student editors. I’ve enjoyed speaking with them because it’s so easy to relate through the experience of working on a student newspaper.

It’s comforting to know that the good student journalists go through the same struggles and run into the same problems that we do, yet through it all still wouldn’t trade in the work that they do for anything.

Love for the paper is too strong.

Issue 9 – The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College

 

"The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College - Issue 9 - February 18, 2011 - Front Page"

It’s hard to believe, but The Quindecim published it’s second issue of the semester last Friday. As a whole, we didn’t do well with deadlines, which made for a rough week with little sleep. I’m taking it as a reminder that we’ve all got full schedules and lots of other parts of life to balance, so we can’t let missed deadlines take over our week.

That being said, it’s weeks like last where it’s easy to feel severely under appreciated by this College for the work that we do. Administrators and trustees are always quick to remind us of what an accomplishment this transformation has been and what a boon The Quindecim has become for the school.

Yet there’s nothing there for us.

News is always happening. It doesn’t stop over Mid-Semester break, Winter break, Spring break, or Summer vacation. Being an editor on The Quindecim simply requires significantly longer hours than just about any other position held by students. It is a round-the-clock, round-the-semester, round-the-year responsibility. It’s not just one meeting per week, or one event per semester.

Every two weeks, editors spend entire nights producing the newspaper so that it meets our deadline. On top of academics, athletics, and the trials of the college experience, editors pull consecutive all-nighters cooped up in a room above the Gopher Hole to ensure Goucher gets its newspaper on time.

Working on the newspaper is a grind, one that our editors endure on a biweekly basis.

For that work, we are unpaid and receive no academic credit. What’s more, at the end of this semester, our reward for publishing 14 comprehensive, lengthy issues of the newspaper this year will be a significant pile of debt.

Here’s the truth: Until another group of editors as enthusiastic, motivated, and crazy as we are comes along, which I doubt will be soon, The Quindecim will never be this good again. Until an infrastructure to fund this newspaper – not as a student club as we’re currently considered, but as a necessary and vital institution on this campus – is created, it’ll regress to what it was before: dead in the water.

I could go on and on, but this is The Q‘s next big moment. We’re making moves to see that change happens.

Issue 8 – The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College

"The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College - Issue 8 - February 4, 2011 - Front Page"

We’re back to work at The Quindecim and we’ve already published a comprehensive first issue of the semester. It was impressive to see all of our staff from last semester come back to our first meetings and contribute such great content on a shortened deadline.

Once we received everything, it was the usual grind.

Three straight nights of layout, tough decision making, and early-morning coffee breaks made for a pretty tough week. Sometimes it makes me wonder why I do this in the first place.

Then I’m reminded when the paper hits campus on Fridays.

There’s nothing more refreshing then walking through our buildings and seeing students, faculty, and staff alike flipping through our pages. It’s quite a rush.

Issue 7 – The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College

"The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College - Issue 7 - December 10, 2010 - Front Page"

The Quindecim published its seventh issue of the year last Friday, completing an unprecedented semester for this publication.

Last week also happened to be the week before finals, so we were all swamped with essays, presentations, projects, and exams to prepare for. I’m not quire sure how we pulled this together by deadline time on top of all that, but we did. What’s more, the content is just as strong as any other issue we’ve put out this semester.

In fact, thinking back, it’s amazing that we got these newspapers out so regularly, given our busy schedules.

Hitting these deadlines cost me lots of lost sleep and added stress, but I wouldn’t give it up for anything. The lessons I’ve learned have been incredibly valuable, and it’s exciting to think about continuing next semester.

Issue 6 – The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College

"The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College - Issue 6 - November 19, 2010 - Front Page"

We published another great issue of The Quindecim today. It’s twenty pages of accurate, relevant, and interesting content. We also hit our deadline under immense pressure as the end of the semester rapidly approaches.

For me, this issue was physically and emotionally draining. It took a lot out of me. What matters, though, is that seeing 1,500 copies of the newspaper being delivered to our newsroom today made all the hard work worthwhile.

I’ll write more after we publish our seventh issue, the final one of this incredible semester!

Issue 5 – The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College

 

"The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College - Issue 5 - November 5,2010 - Front Page"

The latest issue of The Quindecim has been distributed around campus.

This issue is the best evidence this year of how far we’ve come since last. We’ve established credibility as a source of news through the first four issues, and we’ve now become something that people expect and look forward to every two weeks.

Issue 5 is comprised of 20 pages of  well-written, informative articles and beautiful photographs. More importantly, we reported on the biggest stories of the year. These aren’t about famous speakers who visited campus or huge plans for new building renovations. Rather, they’re about issues that directly affect students on a daily basis.

I urge Goucher students to pick up The Quindecim, educate yourselves with the facts, and contribute to the campus conversation.

We worked harder on this issue than on any other this year, and I’m extremely proud of my Editors and staff for producing such a great product. There are some mistakes which some members of my staff have brought to my attention.

As the Editor-In-Chief, I take full responsibility for those mistakes, and I sincerely apologize.

That being said, what’s most important is that the the facts published in this issue are accurate and verified. What matters most is that right now, we as students have some larger, more important problems in our community to fix.

The Quindecim remains dedicated to doing their part in helping to do so.

Issue 3 – The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College

"The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College - Issue 3 - October 8, 2010 - Front Page"

Another issue of The Quindecim was delivered to Goucher last Friday, just in time for Family Weekend. It was rewarding to see not only students, faculty, and staff, but also parents and siblings with the paper in their hands. It was a good reminder that this paper isn’t just for students, but the extended Goucher community.

As usual, production of the paper came down to the wire. I’m proud of us as Editors for making sure that we received everyone else’s work by the deadline we needed to make. We have so many other responsibilities, however, that most of us didn’t get our own articles in on time. It’s very difficult to layout a newspaper when all the articles and photographs aren’t collected on time and grouped together in one place. For me, finding time to report, write, and take photographs among all the administrative responsibilities of being Editor-In-Chief has been the biggest challenge this year.

In the end though, what matters most is that we sent it to press when we needed to and the issue turned out incredibly well. Every issue we publish is better than the last, and I think this one was no exception. Most noticeably, we changed the cover layout to break the monotony of the two previous covers we had. It’s very well organized and easy to follow.

We also published our second 20-page issue in a row. In fact, we had so much content that we had to omit several submissions and articles due to space limitations. We don’t want to let people’s hard work go unnoticed, so we’ll do all that we can to ensure that those are published in our fourth issue.

Issue 1 – The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College

"The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College - Issue 1 - September 10, 2010 - Front Page"

The first issue of the revitalized student newspaper at Goucher College was published on Friday, September 10, 2010. I’ll be posting our front page designs as an opportunity to reflect on each of the 14 issues we will publish this academic year. Below is the Editor’s Letter I wrote explaining all the changes we made to improve The Quindecim as it appeared in this first issue.

‘Quindecim redecorates, revitalizes’

Billie Weiss

Editor-In-Chief

Student journalism is a tradition that has endured at Goucher College for nearly a century. Founded in 1913, The Quindecim has served as a voice of the students during the most important moments in the college’s rich history.

Last year, however, The Q, as it is more commonly referred to, nearly disappeared. For almost the entire Fall semester, we failed to publish a single issue of the newspaper.

The grand opening of the Athenaeum, the addition of multiple new athletic facilities, and Karl Rove’s memorable visit to campus were among the numerous newsworthy occasions marking Goucher’s 125th anniversary that we did not cover.

A small group of persistent and loyal editors, short on resources and staff, managed to publish a first issue. We spent countless late nights throughout the year picking the publication up off its feet.

I’ve been a part of this newspaper for three years. I’ve seen it at its best and at its worst. Now, as Editor-In-Chief, it is my duty to inspire others in revitalizing our publication. The other editors and I share a common vision: the reestablishment of The Quindecim as Goucher’s reliable source of student news.

Our mission is to provide Goucher College with transparent, trustworthy, verified information. We seek to give all aspects of life on campus equal coverage. Through engaging but unbiased, factual reporting, we aim to spark lively conversation throughout the Goucher community.

My priority is to restore and renew the fairness and accuracy many believe The Quindecim has lacked over the past several years. With help from countless individuals and offices on campus, we’ve made big changes over the summer to ensure that this happens.

We have a new, extremely talented, diverse, and enthusiastic board of editors. The leaders of this publication are committed to upholding the highest standards of journalism. We had a huge turnout to our informational meeting last week. Over 40 students interested in journalism, reporting, writing, blogging, website design, video, multimedia, newspaper layout, social media, cartooning, advertising, and business management filled our office.

We’ve added a new Global Section to each edition of the newspaper to ensure regular coverage of one of Goucher’s most unique characteristics: the study abroad requirement. We’ll gather reactions to the requirement as well as articles, notes, memoirs, and photographs from students who have studied and who are currently studying in foreign countries. We’ll also provide coverage for stories that reach beyond Goucher’s campus.

Changes in style accompany our changes in substance. With the help of the Office of Communications, The Q has been completely redesigned with a crisp, clean, and updated layout. Our paper now has a fresh, professional, and attractive new look.

In addition to an aesthetic redesign of our website, we’ve also incorporated multimedia, including photos, videos, podcasts, and blogs. With presence on Facebook and Twitter, the Goucher community can join the conversation and share its thoughts by utilizing the expansive world of social media.

Our previously cockroach infested, cluttered, and chaotic office has been given a makeover. The walls are now covered with items one would find in a professional newsroom: past editions of our publication, maps, clocks, white boards, bulletin boards, and calendars. We’ve added new, high quality computer equipment and workspaces as well. It’s one of the most impressive student club spaces on campus, a sacred space where we can hold weekly staff meetings and produce new content on a daily basis.

It’s important to note that these improvements are useless, however, without engagement from you, the Goucher community.

I encourage you to pick up the paper. Read it. Share your thoughts on campus issues. Connect with us online. Give us ideas. Let us know how we can improve. Join our staff.

I’m confident that this type of interaction, combined with the fresh enthusiasm that has taken over this publication, will make for a truly special year. I’m excited for what’s to come.

The Q is back!