Editorial

Your campus newspaper is in grave danger, but you can help save it.

The Collegian has a fee referendum on the ballot in the Associated Students election April 20 and 21 that would ensure the survival and improvement of the newspaper.

The current funding situation presents a conflict of interest in that a government body is funding the newspaper. The referendum would give The Collegian funding independent of Associated Students.
Without the funding the referendum would provide, The Collegian may have to cut back to a weekly newspaper or may disappear completely.

Fresno State is the largest major regional university between San Francisco and Los Angeles, and no respectable university newspaper should be moving toward a less-frequent publication schedule.

A strong newspaper is key at a university the size of Fresno State, and The Collegian is a vital part of this campus. Having an independent media voice on campus is invaluable. Any community must be able to look to its newspaper for unbiased and fair coverage, and a college campus, where truth and free thought are paramount, is no exception.

A democracy requires informed participation. We at The Collegian have the role of being that unbiased and fair informer on campus.

The Collegian is also necessary for the respectability and status of the mass communication and journalism department. Losing a newspaper, or even moving to a less-frequent publication schedule, is a bad sign for a reputable university. Fresno State can do better.

A yes vote for The Collegian referendum next week will be a yes vote for a better newspaper. With the initial funding increase of $1.50 per student per semester that The Collegian would receive from the student fee, we would be able to improve the quality of stories and the quality of reporting. We will be able to cover more issues and allow more students to gain experience in working on a fully functioning newspaper.

Increased funding would also allow The Collegian to implement many features students have asked for.

Today’s issue shows some of the items The Collegian would be able to provide if we receive the necessary funding (see page 11). These include a crossword puzzle, a campus calendar and a comic strip.

The increased funding would also help The Collegian improve its Web site and its ability to cover breaking news by means of electronic media. The Collegian’s Web site would be able to implement streaming video and more online features.

The Collegian also provides a forum for diversity and multiculturalism on campus with the four ethnic supplements published twice each semester.

The supplements, newspapers serving the black, Hispanic, Armenian and Asian communities on campus, receive their funding through The Collegian, and an increase in funding by way of the referendum would allow for the growth and improvement of these supplemental newspapers, as well.

The Collegian is vital to Fresno State, and this funding is vital to The Collegian. Your campus newspaper needs your support. We at The Collegian urge you to support a free press by voting yes on The Collegian referendum.