It doesn’t matter whether you pulled this issue of Arthur out of your ISW kit, picked it up in a cafe downtown, or are flipping through it at the bus stop - something just happened to you. You’re an Arthur reader now. Maybe if you had some sort of time machine you could change your mind, walk past the stack of papers, throw your copy straight into the recycling bin, but you can’t. Even if you stop reading right now, it’s already too late. You’re one of us.
Welcome. This is Issue 0. It’s meant especially for students who are new to Trent and for community members who are new to Peterborough to get acquainted with what’s happening in this city and at the University. It’s also for all of you returning students and longtime residents to get caught up on what has been going on this summer.
So why should you care? Arthur is as old as Trent itself. It’s created by students and community members for students and community members. What we report is researched, written, and produced for you by your peers, without censorship from the administration or academic departments.
Arthur is also funded mainly by our readership - we receive a levy from full-time undergraduate and consecutive education students. The bulk of our advertising comes from local downtown businesses. We provide paid positions to Ontario and International students, funded by OWSP and TIP, and we have co-op placements available for high school students. Our responsibility is primarily to our readers, but we’re accountable to a Board of Directors, which is also comprised of Trent students, faculty, and Peterborough residents. We’re desperately seeking new folks to join us on our Board, and new students are especially welcome.
I know that all of you have publication experience. You “publish” photos on your Facebook news feeds, your blogs, your tumblr accounts. You have an intuitive sense of how to do this, I can tell. The next thing for all of you budding writers and photojournalists to do is show up at a story meeting. There’s one on Tuesday, Sept. 6 at 7pm in our office in Sadleir House. If you have the time and the enthusiasm, we can teach you what to do next. If you’re not a writer but you are a good speller, you’re in luck, because we need people to help us proof read. Not into interviews but great with design? We need help with layout and with our website. Do you drive a car? We need someone to distribute the paper downtown and on campus. This is the most important job of all – at least according to last year’s distribution manager.
Since Trent University doesn’t have a news wire, our anonymous tips come from what we overhear on the Trent Express or in the library. Our writers pitch stories based on what is happening in their classroom, at City Hall, at their College Cabinet meetings. We write what we know. But we also have a responsibility to write what we want to know; to use our research time and to conduct interviews to make news that is relevant to all of our readers. The best way for us to do that is to expand our staff and volunteer base. Arthur used to have an award-winning sports column, for instance, but our sports writer graduated and this year we’re gonna need a replacement. If you don’t see the things you’re passionate about covered in your paper, think about making a contribution. If your group has an event coming up, send us a listing or a press release. Send us an email with your leads on developing news items – This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. . Or, we’re @trentarthur on Twitter.
One of my favourite stories from Trent University lore is about the Harry Hobbs memorial library, which is still located in Sadleir House, just down the hall from our office. In1966, Hobbs was a first year Trent student who ran a library out of his closet. As a joke, he was awarded a plaque at a College Cabinet meeting that read “H. Hobbs Memorial Library.” Hobbs called his dad, who called the Canadian Press Wire. All of a sudden, the story about Trent’s decision to name a library after a living undergraduate student was all over the news. President Symons allowed the name to stand. The moral of the story is: it can be really fun to be involved in journalism as a student. What we publish has the power to demand real changes, both silly and serious.
Finally, I’d like to say a few special thank-yous. To Brett Throop, a dedicated Arthur staff member who is organizing our first-in-a-long time Speaker’s Series. Andrea Houston, who we got to know at The Peterborough Examiner and who currently writes for Xtra, will be doing a talk on Friday, Sept. 30 at 7pm in Sadleir House. Thank you also to all of our contributors, but especially to Sarah McDonald, a new student who will find her first article ever – written even before she got to Peterborough - on the cover of the paper this week. And to my awesome Co-Editor, Miranda Rigby, whose talent and positive attitude amaze and inspire me. Thank you to all of you Arthur readers, too: there’s no turning back now. See you next week!
