1. To begin with academic, I am a Communication major with a sequence in Media Studies. While Communication majors are hardly a rarity, I know that I care passionately about my studies, which have practical applications at the UP.
My extracurricular focus during my time at FAU has been at the UP. I began working as a columnist in the fall of 2001. The next semester I was promoted to Opinions Editor. It was during this time that I realized that we had a hard time finding writers, and so, added recruitment efforts as a side project. Beginning in the end of this past spring, I moved up to Associate Editor. This position has two parts-the first is recruitment and the second, I act as a “floating editor.” This entails line editing section editors’ work, working with individual writers, and filling in gaps with my own work (cover stories, news pieces, photography, columns, etc). My two years at the UP has given me a chance to present people with the way things have been done in the past, which keeps us from repeating mistakes. I feel that I am qualified to be Editor not only because I have devoted a lot of time and hard work here, but because I have a solid working relationship with the staff. I have spent this summer working closely with all sections, and being available to help wherever I can. Whether it’s going on the distribution run with Scott, helping Stef write cutlines on the weekend or fielding questions from staffers who feel out of the loop, I feel that the staff knows me well and trusts my judgment.
2. A major strength of the UP is our ability to buckle down and get the job done. I have kept a promotions chart since the beginning of spring, and have seen many dedicated staff members actively involved in Breezeway Days, recruiting and attending orientations. I have also shared many late nights, early mornings and weekends in the office with staff members who want our paper to be at its best each issue.
Our major weakness is that we are far too introspective. We get caught up in the day-to-day details of putting out a paper, and we lose a sense of perspective about our work. It is not rare for a staff member to merely glance at the issue once it’s out, because our end is finished. I feel that the way to fix this is to welcome outsiders, especially faculty, to come in and critique us. When you put so much effort into an issue, it isn’t easy to hear that it’s imperfect, but I truly think that we need someone to show us an objective view of our work. This will help direct us towards focusing on quality and consistency.
3. The goal that I hope to achieve is for the UP to become a presence at FAU. This sounds vague, but it isn’t – we simply need to reach out to other agencies and work with them. One way that I hope to achieve this is through a Student Media Association, something that I have begun the preliminary work on and plan to work towards this semester. I have made sure that I have a solid relationship with the staffs of both Owl Radio and Owl TV. The TV and radio stations and the newspaper share common ground, which is our ability to give students a voice, and our responsibility to inform them about what happens at FAU. I am currently working to cross-promote with Owl TV and Owl Radio, as well as spending quality time with them during 8 AM orientations.
We can also benefit from working with a variety of agencies, including SG. The benefits of the UP are great-gain readership among student leaders, have potential recruits sent our way, and the ability to “piggyback” – be present at other groups’ events, share breezeway day activities, etc. The UP tends to be too clannish – if we branch out to other student leaders, we have a lot to gain.
4. As Editor, I would ensure strict deadlines quite simply – if it isn’t in by deadline, it won’t be in the issue. While Leslie has worked valiantly this summer to enforce deadlines, I feel that deadline extensions have been granted for reasons that were not critical. The fault can’t be blamed on one person, but rather the system – it was simply too easy to gain an extension. On a two-week deadline like the summer, there should be no reason the design team should be working on Sunday or Monday finishing the issue. If a major story breaks with no warning, or a story absolutely cannot wait until the next issue, the Art Director and Copy Desk Chief can allow something in late. On the day budget sheets are signed, a section editor should have all copy they intend to place on the server written down. This means the title/slug, who will write it, who will edit it and whether art is needed. I plan to meet with every section individually to ensure that they understand what they need to do to get copy in on time, and to give them the opportunity to voice any concerns that they have, regarding deadlines or anything else they wish to address.
5. Recruitment was a weakness that I saw in the UP a long time ago, and I have worked very hard at finding students to work here. At least three Breezeway Days a semester was my standard as Associate Editor, and that would not change as Editor-in-Chief. I also implemented an application form, which is useful in keeping track of interested students. This summer I have met around forty incoming freshmen who have filled out applications and will be invited to an open house at the start of the fall semester. While many of these students may not follow through, if we gain even a few motivated staff members, it will be worth it. The other end of recruitment that needs work is follow-up. I direct students to the individual section editors they want to work with, and as Editor I would like to ensure that the section heads are following up with applicants. I would accomplish this by requiring section editors and management to each keep at least two office hours a week, other than on their deadline day and attending staff meetings (for example-from 12 to 1pm on Wednesday and Thursday). Section editors are paid $75/week, so in hourly wages that is not unreasonable, considering that they can spend that time getting their usual work done anyway, as long as they are available to anyone who needs to speak with them. No matter what week it is, knowing that Editor X will be in at a specific time and day will not only help recruitment, but office communication as a whole, as it will cut down on a lot of games of “tag” between cell phones, office phones, home phones, e mail, etc.
Another critical part of recruitment is on the other campuses. It has been difficult, since we work out of Boca, to find writers from other campuses. Unfortunately, as a University Wide agency, we need to recognize that it is our responsibility to do so. After a recent UWC meeting, I assured the representatives from the Jupiter and Broward campuses that we would be actively recruiting outside of Boca come fall. I have sent promotional items, applications and fliers to the Broward Student Government and to our Jupiter Editor, and have enlisted their help in recruiting writers. We owe all FAU students the chance to express themselves through the UP, and the UWC will call us on it if we don’t follow through. We don’t want to bite the hands that feed us.
