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.

‘Marley and Me’ and Goucher College

 

“John Grogan, author of ‘Marley and Me,’ fields a question after his lecture titled ‘Memoir & Me- The Art of First-Person Narrative’ at Goucher College on Monday, March 28, 2011.”

John Grogan, author of the 2006 New York Times bestseller, ‘Marley and Me’, was invited to speak at Goucher College last Monday.

I’ve haven’t read the book or watched the film, but it didn’t matter much for the purposes of this lecture. Grogan, a former reporter and columnist for The Philadelphia Inquirer, spoke about the differences and similarities between journalism and narrative nonfiction. It was interesting to hear his thoughts on how objectivity and balance play into both styles of writing.

I got to speak with him at dinner before the lecture. He saw me with my camera, and he told me that he used to love to shoot for his college newspaper, although he admitted it was never his forte.

Here’s another post that explains his talk in more detail.

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 4 – The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College

 

"The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College - Issue 4 - October 22, 2010 - Front Page"

I wish we could have every Monday and Tuesday be vacation days.

Last week was our fall break, so the campus was quiet for several days. Luckily for us, our press deadline was Wednesday, so we were able to use that time off from class to work on The Quindecim during normal hours.

It’s amazing how a clear mind and sufficient hours of sleep affect one’s productivity. We worked for several hours during the day on Monday and Tuesday, and finished the paper more quickly than any other issue this year.

I’m very pleased with the content of this issue, but there’s always room for improvement. I think that so far, the main stories we’ve run are the ones that people at Goucher expect to see. I’m excited for Issue 5 to come together because the stories we have planned to run are much more out of the ordinary.

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 2 – The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College

"The Quindecim, The Independent Student Newspaper of Goucher College - Issue 2 - September 24, 2010 - Front Page"

We published the second issue of The Quindecim last Monday, although it should have arrived to campus the Friday before. My Editors and I spent two sleepless nights laying out the paper, correcting for mistakes, and tweaking the design. We sent the paper to press on Thursday morning, which normally ensures delivery to campus on Friday morning.

The paper was delivered on time, but the 1,500 copies we ordered all looked horrible. Photos were dark, individual pages had pink and yellow tints to them, and several of the section headers were covered with blue stains. I quickly hid all 1,500 copies in our office so that nobody on campus would see them.

Our printer told me they would be able to reprint it for Monday, but wouldn’t be able to deliver it until Wednesday. So, on Monday, I drove through a huge rainstorm to pick up the papers myself.

Luckily, it was only two days late so nobody was too upset.

Besides the printing lapse, I’m very happy with this issue as a whole. There are several things that really separate this one from the first issue we put out this year. Primarily, the content is better. The articles are well written, and the copy editing was nearly flawless. We’ve only found a few small mistakes and typos throughout the issue. Second, this issue includes four advertisements for local businesses, which has allowed us to get The Quindecim out into the larger Towson community. I received a text message from a Goucher student congratulating me because he saw a non-Goucher student walking around Towson with a copy of The Q. He said he thought he’d never see the day.

As a whole, these changes allowed us to print a very complete 20 page issue, rather than our usual 16 page standard.

We still need to do a better job of making sure all articles come in by deadline so that we can avoid having to pull consecutive all-nighters to get it to press on time. Deadline week is again upon us for Issue 3, so I hope this time it goes more smoothly.

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!

Goucher greets new year!

 

 

"Members of the Junior class celebrate the beginning of the 2010-2011 academic year at the annual Opening Ceremonies at Goucher College Wednesday, September 1, 2010."

 

It’s hard to believe, but I’m already a Senior at Goucher College. It’s been an amazing three years, and I’m excited to round out my time at this wonderful place.

The start to the year was crazy, so I’m just finding the time now to get back onto Billie with an I.E. and reflect on the work I’m doing. This will without a doubt be the busiest year I’ve had here. I know it’ll also be the most rewarding.

I’m the Editor-In-Chief of The Quindecim, Goucher’s Independent Student Newspaper. I spent the summer making significant changes to all aspects of the publication, and we’ve already received nothing but positive feedback and encouragement from many people on campus and in the Towson area.

Throughout the year, I’ll also be writing an extensive Senior Thesis for honors in the Communications and Media Studies department. Because overseeing our newspaper is what I’m most passionate about (and what takes up a major part of my schedule), I’ve decided to focus the project on student newspapers on college campuses throughout the country. Specifically, I’ll be looking at the balance and interaction between college administrations and student newspapers.

I looked at some very impressive Graduate programs for Journalism this summer, and may decide to apply to them this Fall.

I’m one of the Captains of the Men’s Varsity Tennis team, which I’ve been a part of during my four years here. We’re several weeks into our fall season, and have approximately twenty matches, as well as a trip to Orlando, Florida, scheduled for this coming Spring. I look forward to leading the team in our longtime quest to reach the conference playoffs.

After living in the un-airconditioned, oldest, mostly freshman-filled dorm on campus, I’ve upgraded my living situation as well. I’m living in a spacious, airy apartment on campus with three of my closest friends here. I enjoy having company again after living in a single room for the past two years.

I’ll also continue being a statistician for the Goucher Basketball teams, take photographs for several offices on campus, and complete several other odd jobs that I get asked to do here and there.

And I’m taking three interesting classes.

Life is grand!