Editorial

My name is Dave Koelle, and I am the new editor-in-chief. Often, when leadership is passed from one person or group to another, the new leader has some new ideas, a new direction in which to head. One of the things I would like to focus on is getting Newspeak involved in the community more than it is now. Of course, Newspeak has to be involved in the community to some extent. After all, the paper is about the community! I would like to see a stronger bond between the paper and the community which it serves.

I am taking steps to make Newspeak more friendly and more available to the community. On-campus advertising rates have been lowered, in the hopes that the community will find Newspeak to be a great medium for letting others know what's going on. I hope to continue our investigations into diverse parts of our community, which you have seen in Carlos Zapata's articles on different minority groups. In addition, Donna Edzards has begun an excellent series of articles on WPI traditions and history. Also remember that the writing which you read in Newspeak is not limited to things written by our staff: as always, your suggestions and opinions are always welcome.

Another one of my foci is getting more people involved in Newspeak. The paper, over the past few years, has had a small staff, which is unfortunate, given all of the talent at WPI. At first, it's easy to just say that WPI is a technical university. Few humanities courses are required, a fact that appeals to many students. Why would WPI students, a technical bunch, want to write? When you know what Newspeak has to offer, you realize that this rationalization is a poor one. Newspeak is much more than writing: it's doing layout on computers, working in the business and advertising departments, taking pictures as a photographer, expressing your opinion, and becoming involved in the WPI community. I know there are a lot of students who care very much about WPI. Why not join Newspeak? You don't have to write if you don't want to - that's not all we offer. You would get to work closely with the important people around campus, learning a lot about our school in the process.

Perhaps the student body as a whole is not fully aware of what being part of Newspeak means for the participant. You must make a paradigm shift: don't think, "Newspeak could use me"; instead, think, "Newspeak is a great opportunity for me." We can offer you experience in running a small business, advertising, desktop publishing, or photography. Of course, you could also improve your writing. Keep up with the latest sports events, see what is happening around campus, get "the inside scoop" on hot stories. When a future employer sees that you've worked on the student newspaper in some vital capacity, your possibility of acceptance becomes that much better.

Newspeak is holding a membership drive today in Morgan A from 6:30pm-8:00pm. Feel free to stop by anytime, meet some of the staff members, and see what we're about.