Here at the Statesman, the editorial staff is finally settling in after a busy summer. While planning for the upcoming semester has resulted in its share of hardships and windfalls, we feel we are more than ready to focus on delivering a comprehensive, cohesive newspaper for the campus and surrounding local community. The Statesman, this semester, features a host of changes aimed at bringing the reader’s experience to a new level.
The Statesman website has been redesigned to express a more modern outlook not just in terms of viewing experience, but also with added features including flash based slide shows, web forums, calendars, and also, an e-mail edition of the paper for registered users.
Flash based slide shows will be a part of a new section this semester, ‘In Pictures,’ to be featured once a week, highlighting some aspect of our university. The pictures might highlight an event at the Staller Center, a club or sports team on campus, or possibly the staff of a particular department. We might just decide to have a photo shoot of the campus as it changes from season to season (in all different types of weather). As always, suggestions or requests for photo shoots can be sent to [email protected].
For the Arts and Entertainment section this semester, the editorial staff has decided to try something new. Anyone who has a passion for a given discipline will be given the opportunity to write. The area of interest could be something like making paper airplanes or following rugby teams around the world or even reviewing the popular television shows and movies like House, MD, LOST, or American Idol. Again, the area of interest is up to the writer. Arts and Entertainment will also feature ‘Shout Outs!’ this semester along with a new advice column, ‘Ask Stella Star.’
Our Sports section will be expanded from previous semesters, and adequate coverage will be given to all major sports teams on campus. More emphasis will be placed on the many intramural clubs on campus. The Statesman recognizes the need for more of these types of intramural activities to increase the quality campus life, removing the old label of SBU as a commuter school.
As always, students are encouraged to diversify themselves in their curricular and extra-curricular activities. Just because one may be a science, engineering, or business major doesn’t mean that participating in a journalism oriented organization such as the Statesman will be of no value. On the contrary, participating in the Statesman can truly broaden one’s horizons, allowing one to enhance communication skills, learn about the organization of the campus, and actively participate in a vibrant academic atmosphere. Any professor, anybody with a college degree will tell you the value of remaining motivated, enterprising, and focused. The skills one can gain working from working with the Statesman are intangible, and arguably, more valuable than any individual course that one can take at this campus.
As part of the new School of Journalism, students will be able to work with the Statesman for academic credit. While an internship with any one of the media organizations on campus will be required for all declared Journalism majors, students of all majors should definitely consider working for the Statesman for the aforementioned reasons.
With the upcoming semester almost here, our focus on the campus community is already underway. News and Features sections will focus primarily on the Stony Brook campus, the students, staff, and faculty who make our university what it is. Coverage of events on campus will continue as usual but with an eye for the big picture. How does a particular club or organization fall into the big picture on campus? How are students affected by a particular program or event? What are the long term consequences?
We emphasize the fact that we are a progressive newspaper focusing on the future of our university. Our paper does not express any political, social, or moral bias, and we do not discriminate based on religion, race, or ethnicity. We look forward to covering events such as the 9/11 Memorial Service, Wolfstock Homecoming, and the Philadelphia Dance Company coming to the Staller Center. Our news editor, Will James, will also be commencing a campus safety expose, following up on several of the major incidents on campus last semester.
In addition, the Statesman will feature periodic issues of the Statesman Lite, a magazine-like insert to accompany our regular newspaper issues. Each edition of the Statesman Lite will place emphasis on a certain aspect of campus life. For example, Shanza Malik, our Arts and Entertainment Editor will be organizing our Dining Guide, places to eat at Port Jefferson. Candace Ishmael, our Sports Editor, will be organizing an insert on Holidays, around the time when finals will be rolling around.
We encourage all interested students to come down to our office and share their talents with us. We always have room for more people on our team.
Students who wish to engage themselves as Statesman writers can contact the editorial staff by filling out some basic information online at http://www.sbstateman.com/join or through an e-mail to [email protected]. Our office is located in the basement of the SB Union, Room 057. Editorial meetings are on Sunday evenings at 4PM, Wednesday afternoons during campus lifetime (12:50-2:00) and Wednesday evenings after 5 PM. If these times are inconvenient, contact is there through e-mail, and someone is always present in our office during normal business hours from 9-5, Monday through Friday.
Good luck, and God speed,
Suraj Rambhia
Tejas Gawade
Editors-in-Chief
