We have a running joke-albeit a dark one-that The Free Press is one devoted person away from not coming out each week. It would be funny if it weren’t true.
The burden of reporting and analyzing news, events and issues at USM rests on the will and ambition of a small cadre of students who give up nearly all their free time to write, edit and lay out a weekly newspaper for the students of USM. We do this because we think that’s what you want.
But is it?
Decisions are being made every day by people who may or may not have your best interests in mind. The role of student journalists is to ask the questions no one else will; to sift through allegations and rumors and represent all sides of the story. The Portland Press Herald doesn’t cover USM, nor does NPR. The only people who can check the power of University administrators are the students. And the way things are going, The Free Press is in real danger of becoming totally irrelevant.
The 16 pages of newsprint you hold in your hands belongs to you; you own it. Every time you pay your student activity fee, you effectively resubscribe to The Free Press. Our mission is to create a product that you think is worth the money. That is our obligation, one that we take very seriously.
We try to cover everything: from student clubs to campus crime; from cryptozoology museums to workers’ rights protests at area restaurants. I have struggled over the past year as news editor to recruit enough reporters to cover the array of issues that affect students at a commuter school, but there is simply too much going on and not enough people willing to knock on doors, make phone calls, dig through records and check and recheck facts.
For example, decisions are being made right now by faculty, administration and members of the student government that directly affect you. Our University bounces from one budget crisis to the next. Administrators are considering canceling 140 classes next semester to save money, and a small handful of people is currently debating which majors to axe. By all accounts, our school is in trouble, and most staff and administrators seem to be trying to duck the guillotine to keep their jobs. Some department heads have declined to comment on stories relating to the budget crisis, for fear they could lose their jobs for telling the truth. Meanwhile, the Chancellor of the University of Maine System, Richard Pattenaude, has offered a plan-which the Board of Trustees approved on Nov. 16-that puts more power in the hands of the University of Maine System. UMS has managed to squirrel away tens of million of dollars each year, spending only 28 percent of their total budget on instruction. And every time they announce cuts in funding to the campuses, they pull their empty pockets inside-out and shake their heads in a well-rehearsed show of sympathy.
This is your money. This affects you in a very real way. Do you care?
I mean that as a serious question. If you don’t care, I encourage you to write Maggie Guzman and request that the Student Government stop funding The Free Press (she can be reached at [email protected]). If you do care, and want a newspaper that asks the tough questions of those in charge, please call or e-mail me (I can be reached on my cell phone at 207-615-6652 or by e-mail at [email protected]).
If you want to report or take photos and have no experience, we can train you. If you’re just tired of seeing typos in stories, stop by Sunday and help edit copy. If you hate the way the paper looks, come by the office and offer ideas for design. Story ideas? Stop by Monday afternoon for our budget meeting.
This is your paper. It can either truly be the voice of USM students, or it can cease to exist.
It’s entirely up to you.
Until next semester,
Dan MacLeod