By PATRICK HARVEY
CD Editor-in-Chief
Who would think time could fly by so fast in the Basement of Newcomb Hall? Time may have been whirling by, but the 116th staff of The Cavalier Daily has been able to institute a variety of improvements as well as some bright ideas for the future.
A Whirlwind Start
When elections ended on a cold Saturday night, the 116th inherited the paper at a rather chaotic time. Atlas, the program that managed articles within our network, crashed right before we took over, causing headaches and late roll times. Former Editor-in-Chief Chris Wilson just broke a story about allegations of impropriety against Politics Prof. and former Echols Dean James Sofka. The story, which sparked a major controversy around Grounds about his dismissal from his post as Echols Dean, was eventually picked up by both national and local media outlets.
Fortunately, the staff, despite its relative inexperience, gracefully stepped up to the challenge and exceeded all expectations in the maelstrom of the transition. Tackling the immediate challenges with success, the 116th continued to make improvements throughout the semester.
One major change was the death of the “Fat Rotunda” —the smear used to describe our former masthead. Led by Production Editors Chris Gibson and Jordon Buller, the CD got a complete makeover, featuring a looming Jefferson as the feature for the masthead and a sleeker more modern look. The Web page also has a new look with new online advertising provided by Google. The ads have been unobtrusive while providing a steady source of revenue.
On the literary side, the editors have made some reforms to improve their content. Life Editors Michelle Jamrisko and Hannah Woolf have adopted a new slogan of “less fluff, more buff,” to make the life page tackle more serious issues. Executive Editor Elliot Haspel and Opinion Editors Maggie Bowden and Michael Slaven added a new feature to the opinion page: “Contributors,” semi-regular columnists who represent student groups to add a new air of authority to the page. Both the news and sports sections saw in-depth reporting, covering anything from the new higher education restructuring bill passed by the General Assembly to the firing of men’s basketball coach Pete Gillen. The news page also featured a four-part series on one woman’s experience accusing a fellow student of rape to both the police and the University’s Sexual Assault Board. The series, a collaboration between Wilson and myself, put a personal face over the abstract argument over SAB procedures and policies.
The health and sexuality weekly page, formally added to the CD constitution last fall, has become much less controversial—yet still informative and interesting— under the helm of new editor Matt Galati. The new arts and entertainment weekly supplement, Tableau, has shifted its focus to Charlottesville and local entertainment providing a guide to C-ville’s vast cultural scene.
No Summer Vacation
The 116th staff of The Cavalier Daily has no intention of taking the summer off, hoping to accomplish some major objectives in the less-busy summer months. Developing a readership survey, to be distributed in the beginning of the fall, is a major goal for the summer. With private-sector rates approaching nearly $20,000, the CD is planning on collaborating with the Vice President of Student Affair’s Office and the Office of Institutional Studies and Assessment to accrue critical information from our readers. Armed with this information, the CD can hopefully better understand critics, especially minorities, of the CD while also having better data to provide our advertisers.
The 116th also hopes to organize the CD’s finances, ending years of guesstimating and reliance on outsiders. Using new accounting software that would make the chief financial officer and editor-in-chief more informed of the assets and liabilities of the newspaper, hopefully The Cavalier Daily can wean its dependence off Alumni Hall and its office manager.
In efforts to improve the transparency of The Cavalier Daily, I also plan to write a report on the history of The Cavalier Daily and its controversies over the years regarding race. In addition, a “Frequently Asked Questions” link will be added to the web site to provide critical information for our readers about how we operate.
From the infrastructure side, Operations Manager Dan Bagley is planning on greatly improving the network, allowing more compatibility between the “front room” and the “back room.” With the new system, edits in the front room would automatically be made in the back room. Eliminating the clogs in the system, the new network should work seamlessly and curb frustrating technical delays. He’s also planning on creating an online photo assignment system, eliminating paper work and haphazard emails.
The basement of Newcomb Hall will certainly be buzzing with activity this summer.
Features in the fall
Last fall, the CD amended its constitution to move recruitment responsibilities from the managing editor to the assistant managing editors, to help ease the often overwhelming burden off the head of the literary department. With this change, we’ve been able to improve our active recruitment—reaching students who don’t regularly read The Cavalier Daily. The shift has been successful in the spring and we’re planning very heavy recruitment in the fall.
The housing supplement, a great resource for first years scrambling for housing, will hopefully be revived. Also, a potential supplement, tentatively titled “A Legacy,” will feature articles using the archives and interviews with alumni to compare and contrast the modern University to former eras—hopefully giving our readers a better understanding of the University today.
It’s been a busy and exciting spring, and summer and autumn look no different, but if there is any group of individuals ready to step up to the challenge, it is the 116th staff of The Cavalier Daily.