K-State's Week of Ron

[sigma7]

First Ron Jeremy swung by Manhattan, giving the town a thrill and missmiah a playful grope. Or something. I wasn't there, so I can't testify specifically.

Then students march in protest of the newspaper adviser. Wow. That's, uhm, great.

Note: Editor Katie Lane is one of the cutest, greatest human beings alive. Treat her right.

Comments

[opheliasclone.livejournal.com]

Er... the best way to increase diversity coverage is to increase the diversity of the staff. How many of those marching would volunteer to write for the paper? And if they did volunteer, how good would their chances be of getting something printed?

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

As opposed to other universities in the state, the Collegian is actually very, very good about using underclassmen's work. Getting in as a freshman is a good way to line up an editorship as a junior, and having underclassmen be editor-in-chief is certainly not unheard of.

That said, applications for columnists sometimes fluctuated well over the positions available, but not always -- some were recruited. Most other positions required ceaseless badgering to fill, including editorships. And they get paid. Not much, but more than most places.

I think they'd stand an excellent chance of getting something printed if it was halfway decent and listened to feedback. But there've been people who never got a thing published because it was simply not good enough. They're the exceptions, though, maybe one a semester.

The problem is usually nobody applies for the positions, which usually come open around this time of year, with 4-5 weeks left in the year. Interest peaks the first week, week-and-a-half of the semester, but by that time everyone's hired and has already been working two weeks. So it's a little frustrating.

At least, this is as it was 4-5 years ago. Things may have changed, but I doubt it.

[opheliasclone.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that is pretty frustrating. Sometimes it seems that people wait to be specifically invited, when the general assumption is that anyone who shows up will be welcome. The only thing you can do, really, is repeat the offer to print people's work over and over again.

[motteditor.livejournal.com]

The march reminded me of my old college paper. It was actually similar circumstances that basically started my career. Through various protests before I enrolled at UMass, we had a series of what were called diversity editors, whose positions were to cover their various minority. I began with the newspaper as the Jewish Affairs Editor.

My attitude toward the positions was mixed. On one hand, it was a good way to make sure diversity issues were covered and it allowed minorities to get involved. On the other hand, I also felt much of the minority content could be ghetto-ized (several of the diversity desks had "Diversity Pages," where they would put all their news every other week). I never had one in Jewish Affairs and would have resisted any attempt to add one, though I did do a two-page spread each year for Holocaust Memorial Week.

I think I might have ended up more charitable if some of the positions hadn't been used as much for anti-Semitic, anti-Israeli purposes.

[sigma7.livejournal.com]

I'd be a little disturbed if something similar happened -- "diversity desks" seems like a good idea, but like you said, I'd be ticked if someone simply skipped over that page in the paper when they saw the flag.

But at the same time, if it got someone to be more active and more vocal with the paper, launched a career in journalism that might not've otherwise happened, hey, that's a bonus.

And if these people were calling for change in the newspaper's content instead of oversight from faculty, that'd be constructive. This just seems punitive, and coming with the backing from the administration official whose mug in the paper accidentally got replaced with Osama bin Laden's on last September 11th.

I just don't see how their solution would solve anything.