EDITORIAL
Turns out the new administration supports a student newspaper on this campus about as much as the old one. Which is not at all.
The previous administration, you remember, axed The City Collegian and the journalism classes in 2008. The City Collegian had served this campus for forty-two years. You can read that heartbreaking history on this blog.
Looks like the Killpatrick administration wants to keep it stamped out indefinitely.
On March 23, President Killpatrick and Vice-president Brown issued a joint statement regarding their feelings on restoring Seattle Central’s student newspaper. They’d been petitioned by the Faculty Senate, who had sent them a letter more than a month before (see that letter here). Faculty senators had voted unanimously in support of restoring the school’s journalism program.
The administration’s reply: “we are unable to support re-establishing a Journalism program.”
On a positive note, this administration actually admits that The City Collegian was, in fact, intentionally shut down.
Incredibly, the Mildred Ollée administration actually denied that it had shut down the paper. “There was never any intent or action taken to discontinue publication” of The City Collegian,” she proclaimed in an all-campus decree.
Bear in mind that Mildred Ollée issued her statement months after the Collegian’s newsroom had been plundered and occupied by Student Leadership, months after the Collegian’s budget had been “revoked” (also by Student Leadership), months after all journalism classes were eradicated–and months after Collegian staffers had appealed for the return of the students’ paper.
Sheesh. George Orwell could not have said it better, Mildred. North Korea would be proud.
Yes, it’s nice that our new president admits there was, in fact, a “controversial decision” to shutter the paper and terminate the journalism classes.
But it’s not so nice that he claims our campus newspaper was wiped out because of “a global reflection of the rise of the New Media over print media.”
Huh?
Is this supposed to mean, like, print newspapers are so yesterday and websites are so cool now? And so the dumb old Collegian had to go?
Well, if that’s what he meant, guess he didn’t know that the Collegian had a stellar website custom-built by our own IT students under Bill Newman. Guess he never saw the many phenomenal news videos on this site created by our own Film and Video students under Sal Tonacchio.
That’s right. The City Collegian was all over “new media” because students had invested hundreds of hours into creating it.
Of course, he wouldn’t know this because the website, like most of the Collegian’s archives, was obliterated by Student Leadership. Zap.
The same folks who now pour $67,000 into a print publication.
Sheesh.
Make no mistake: it was an act of cowardice that ended the Collegian after 42 years of serving the students of this campus. Cowardly. Vindictive. Opportunistic.
At the height of its potential, the Collegian was destroyed because a handful people in power didn’t like what they read.
It’s just that simple.
And, frankly, gotta wonder what the real reasons are for keeping the Collegian dead and buried.
This administration had an opportunity to rectify a crime. To restore one (1) class. To wield its authority to reinstate student money that students had designated for The City Collegian, the student voice of Seattle Central since 1966, and which a single administrator took away.
But this administration says “Nope!”
It’s a matter of values. We’re surrounded by campuses that, even in times of bad budgets, have thriving student newspapers. Shoreline, Bellevue, Olympic, Peninsula, Everett. And more.
These schools value and support student journalism. They understand that an education is not all about transfer credits and pumping out job applicants.
An education is about learning to ask questions. About becoming a citizen in a democracy. About participating in a community.
But Seattle Central—this hip urban school, the “College of the Year”—doesn’t see it that way.
It’s just that simple.
And that’s too bad.
Tags: Featured
It becomes increasingly evident that the administration at Seattle Central is unable to deal with the PR nightmare that would be caused by the flood of rational debate that a college Newspaper would inspire. As class sizes increase, programs are cut, and tuition sky-rockets, wasteful extracurricular programs receive endless grants and support from an administration disconnected from any Colleges explicit goal: Education.
As a student and long time employee of Seattle Central Community College, I have seen waste, negligence and downright laziness contribute to the current budget deficits and crises. While I steadfastly support State Employees right to collective bargaining, we must at the same time demand responsibility and vigilance from those who are paid with our tax money. Everyday I see interoffice politics come before productivity, prudence, and student success. A student newspaper would only serve to bring these and other waste inspiring issues to light. What administration wants to face responsibility for their inaction?
Thanks Elroy,
That’s actually exactly what it comes down to, an administration that is terrified of an independent news source.
Well, the PR nightmare is coming their way regardless of whether they want to fund us or not. We’re still here and we’re still going to write.
Thank you for your comment, we really appreciate it.
Keep up the good fight, SCCC Student News! When I presided over the City Collegian back in 1995-96, before I went on to receive my 4-year degree in Communication from UW, I saw first-hand how much petty political posturing by Lexie Evans hurt the free press – not to mention the damage she did to the learning environment.
Her demagoguery and consistently heavy-handed approach to anything related to student voices that didn’t have her seal of approval tarnished an otherwise fantastic learning experience.
I’m so sorry to read that her brand of bureaucracy is still alive and thriving at SCCC.
I used to encourage people to take go to Community College here in Seattle as a jump-start to a 4-year degree or for a 2-year degree in certain fields.
I will be pointing folks to Shoreline or Highline rather than encourage them to submit themselves to a learning environment made positively toxic by her iron fist with students and staff, her genuinely dishonest and underhanded power plays, and her pervasive toadying and ass-covering toward anyone above her.
What a shame.
Thank you for the encouragement, Matt. We really appreciate your insights.