IGH ACRES COLLEGIAN
LETTER TO THE EDITOR
To the staff of the Highacres Col
le:ian: Is the Hi:hacres Colle:ian
worth printing? I think not! If High
acres was a junior high school,
this newspaper would be appropri
ate. If Highacres was a high school,
this newspaper might be appropriate.
But Highacres is a college, and
this newspaper is not appropriate.
The quality of the last Highacres
Collegian was a disgrace to High
acres. Some improvement is need
ed.
How can the Hi •h acres Col I e
be improved? I sympathize with the
editors of the newspaper. They
face, as all other student leaders
on this campus face, the problem of
student apathy. The editors cannot
publish a newspaper without any
material, although, in my opinion,
that is what they did on November
8, 1968. The editors could use their
good judgment and publish a news
paper with material creditable to
college students, even if the'news
paper was published only once a
month. The editors could decide
what type of article is acceptable
and then suggest to the reporters
that they write this type of article.
This plan may sound like editorial
dictatorship, but the reporters do
not seem to be creative or ambit
ious. The reporters need a push!
How can the reporters be creat
ive and ambitious considering the
atmosphere around Highacres? Just
look around; investigate new fads;
listen for controversial opinions.
If a reporter could discover the
worthless gossip printed in the last
Hi:hacres Colle:ian, I'm sure the
same reporter could use his amaz
ing ability to discover some more
pertinent facts. It's up to the re
porters to go out and find the news.
And there is news at Highacres!
There is news in the activities
of various clubs, sports events, and
fac - ulty interests. These areas us
ually receive good coverage; may
be the coverage in these areas
could even be condensed. (Club
events could be written in one
column, not spread out over the
whole newspaper.) There is news
in the opinions of students, not in
the lives of students. ("We Don't
Gossip, But—") The college world
is conducive to original opinions.
The college world is alive with con
troversy about the war, drugs, free
sex, student revolutions, etc. Don't
we have opinions about these is
sues at Highacres?
There is also news in the world
around us. The editorial of Novem
ber 8,1968, "A Flag or a Doormat,"
was a good example of this, but
there are more events happening
every day. Wasn't there just a nat
ional presidential election in the
United States? If you read the
Collegian (Highacres) you would
have never known. So, reporters,
wake up!
The newspaper staff may say I
have no right making these criti
cisms. The newspaper staff may
say the blame is not theirs, but the
student body's. Can everything be
blamed on student apathy? I agree,
this is part of the problem, but
doesn't the Highacres Collegian
this is part of the problem, but
doesn't the Highacres Collegian
have a great responsibility to fight
student apathy, not succumb to it.
The students of Highacres are
not entirely dead, and the life they
have left could be sparked by a bet
ter newspaper. Student life was
revived at the two successful T.G.
I.F.'s. Student life was partially
awakened by the Coffee House.
Students are continually coming a
live at the dances. The Highacres
Collegian, unlike T.G.I.F.'s Coffee
House, and social activities, has
the advantage of reaching all the
students. A better newspaper could
make the student body come alive.
Start now and reach them with some
thing worthwhile!
EDITORS NOTE:
The Collegian wishes to thank
Miss Ancharski for her constructive
criticism. Responsible opinions of
students are always welcome. We
regret that she finds the paper sub
standard. Every effort has been
made to cover all campus activity.
Due to a significant time lag be
tween the date the paper is written
and distributed, most news, per se,
has become "stale". For this rea
son, many articles must be written
in the form of an interpretive re
view. The paper intends to report
all club activities and we feel it
unfair to lump all club news in a
single column. No effort will be
made to compete with the coverage
of international events by daily
publications. The main focus of
the Collegian will be on the Uni
versity.
It is unfortunate that the "Gos
sip Column", designed to add hu
mor to the edition, offended anyone
by its personal references. The
staff has received both favorable
and unfavorable comments on this
feature.
Opinions on campus are usually
not expressed openly. We are, at
least, happy that the Collegian
prompted Nan c y to express her
opinion—Unfavorable though it was.
The editors solicit the opinion
of other students on their evalu
ation of the Collegian—or any other
sub ject—and welcome suggestions.
Furthermore, any student who be
lieves that he can improve the con
tents of this paper is invited to
join the staff of the Highacres Col
legian.
PAGE 3
Sincerely yours,
Nancy Ancharski