Solomon Smith

Before two Thursdays ago, if you picked up a copy of the Recorder, there was a good chance that the paper you were holding was from over a year ago. 

In fact, the vast majority of us who are currently enrolled at Central Connecticut State University have not experienced a consistent, semester-round school newspaper. This year, hopefully, will be the year that this changes. 

Based on our E-newspaper archive, The Recorder has not been on a consistent print schedule since November 2021. With almost two years without consistent news coverage think of how much news students may have missed. 

For two years CCSU news did not hit the stands. While we did our best to publish articles to our website, students should be able to catch up on news without having to go out of their way to look for it online.

A visit from Vice-President Kamala Harris, a student arrested for voyeurism on campus, students rallying against sexual assault, two years of sports and countless other newsworthy events went without student coverage.

These events were covered by other news outlets, the student news perspective cannot be replaced by outside reporters. When we’re on campus it’s like we’re in our own little city and wherever there are jobs, elections, laws, and governance, there must be reporting. Whether it’s to hold people accountable, to make students aware of their community, or if it is to uplift the unheard voices around campus, student news is vital to the community.

I have been writing for The Recorder since my freshman year in 2021 when all our meetings were on Zoom with everyone’s camera off and stories only were published online. Even last semester, when we never had more than 10 people attend a meeting and our only on-print issue was a semester recap. To us now, filling up a meeting room and having a paper printed within the first month of school. I can confidently say we are headed in the right direction.

As editor-in-chief, I’ve made it clear that my goal is to set us on a consistent print schedule. While I would love for us to be printing papers every week, it’s not realistic given the “rebuilding” stage that we’re in with only four of us being returning writers. But, at the very least we have participation, which the paper lacked the first two years I was writing for it.

Our enthusiastic writers and hard-working editors have taken on the challenge of printing a paper every other week. When I refer to this as a challenge, it’s no understatement. Trying to find a meeting time around 20 people’s 15-credit schedules, on top of our individual work schedules and family responsibilities was an impossible task, and that’s just scheduling the meeting, now try producing 20 stories every two weeks on top of those busy schedules.

As someone who is a full-time student, the editor-in-chief of the paper and secretary of CCSU’s chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists while having an on-campus job, I know just how busy all of our schedules can be and I have to thank every writer and editor involved for taking the time to contribute to The Recorder during it’s renovation.

After just one issue printed it’s so rewarding to see people picking up a copy, or faculty members, even outside of the journalism department, expressing their excitement to see that the paper is back on stands. I’m honored to not only be in this position but to have so many of my professors and peers in the journalism department believe that I deserve to be here. Any one of our E-board members would be deserving of this position, I was just the only one crazy enough to run for it. I hope to use this opportunity to aid every student on campus with the two things they’ve been missing, a voice, and a newspaper to read.