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The Capital Times - the student voice of
the Capital College - has been in existence
almost as long as the college itself. But now
the paper is in danger of folding because of
lack of interest and input by students.
Commuter students' lives don't revolve
around campus events, and typically spend
less time on campus than traditional stu
dents at resident colleges. Many agree. At
least in principle, that The Capital Times is
an integral part of campus life, both social
and academic. The paper provides students
with a means to express their opinions, con
cerns and comments about the college. It
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The Student Voice of the Capital College
also provides students with a viable publish
ing outlet - a way to build their portfolios.
According to Dr. Louise Hoffman, advisor
to The Capital Times, this is not a new
problem. Several years ago, under the
advisorship of Dr. Beth Haller, the paper
was forced to draw up several alternatives
should the lack of interest continue. The first
of these options was to "give" The Capital
Times to the Humanities Department.
This seemed like a logical solution at first
glance. Humanities students are typically
the students who work on the paper. And
humanities students are often required to
write and have their work published as a
class requirement. Giving the paper to the
Humanities department, however, has in
herent problems. First, as a departmental
entity, the Humanities department would be
required to fund the newspaper, which costs
at least $5,000 annually. More importantly,
if the paper were "owned" by any depart
ment of the college, it would cease to be "the
student voice of the Capital College."
Another option was to turn the operation of
The Capital Times over to SGA, but this
solution risked the paper becoming a propa
ganda piece for student government. At that
time, several other options were also dis
cussed and dismissed. Ultimately - and in
the nick of time - a handful of students came
to the paper's rescue. Since that time, how
ever, the paper's minimal staff has struggled
to meet publication deadlines, passing down
the problem from one editor to the next.
This year, the staff has decided to address
the problem. Unless more students dedicate
themselves to publishing a quality campus
newspaper, The Capital Times will fold.
Volume 37
Number 2