By Nick Ubels (The Cascade) – Email
Print Edition: January 23, 2013
To the University Students’ Council at the University of Western Ontario,
Leave The Gazette alone.
The Gazette is one of the oldest student-run publications in Canada. Since its debut in 1906, it’s undergone many changes, from its roots as a literary mag, to bi-weekly news editions mid-century, finally settling into a week-day publishing schedule that it has more or less maintained since the early 1990s.
The Gazette’s embattled editor-in-chief Gloria Dickie eloquently detailed the varied history of the campus press in her editorial on January 16.
Since April, the USC has been antagonizing the paper in all sorts of ways. This culminated in last week’s announcement that The Gazette would be moved from its offices in the USC-operated University Community Centre. The decision was made with the intent of converting the 1900-square foot office space into a new multi-faith prayer centre while the Gazette offices would be downsized to a 1165-square foot space elsewhere.
For a daily newspaper with a staff of 24 full-time editors, the space crunch would be devastating. What’s more, it seems that few campus faith leaders are clamouring for an upgraded or renovated space, many of those interviewed by The Gazette expressing surprise at the proposed move.
Based on this rocky relationship over the past nine months, it’s not hard to see the decision as an attempt to reassert editorial control. This is a very, very bad idea.
I realize that, unlike our publication, The Gazette is not autonomous from its respective student association. This poses a lot of different challenges to maintaining journalistic integrity. The Gazette policy itself states the importance of maintaining an objective distance between the two groups, in order for the paper to properly carry out its “watchdog” function.
What’s at stake in this decision is a key service to university students. While it may seem appealing to throw the Council’s weight around by meddling in student press now, it will only reduce the accountability and transparency of future USC executive boards. This hurts students’ ability to make the most of the services USC provide. Less accountability means more corruption and misuse of student funds.
The Gazette itself is a key feature of the University of Western Ontario and has been for more than a century. A free student press is a hallmark of any thriving university community.
It’s crucial to remember that the student press does more than report on the shortcomings of its student association. It’s a feedback loop for USC services and initiatives. It’s a public platform for students to discuss important stuff on campus and to do with college life. It’s an alternate voice to cover hyper-local issues.
Aside from our reporting on the comings and goings of UFV’s Student Union Society (our counterpart to the USC), we’ve profiled local artists, covered the local mayoral election from the student perspective, run plenty of student letters, reported on university developments and much more.
Without the ability to report honestly about its student association a newspaper begins to lose its credibility and the trust of its readers. And that’s concerning anything it reports on. It’s impossible to have it both ways. Either you’re a newspaper or you’re a newsletter.
Don’t turn The Gazette into a newsletter.
Sincerely,
Nick Ubels
Editor-in-chief
The Cascade
