As staffers watched The Daily Collegian's final 2004-05 issue roll off the press in Lewistown, they marveled at how different the newspaper was than the one they saw a year earlier.
From the first day we made improvements - as improvements are made constantly every year - to make this year the Collegian's best yet.
In the summer and early fall we implemented headline font changes decided by our 2003-04 design committee and other visual facelifts created by our managing editor of design. Our new look was a hit.
From the outset, the Collegian's mission this year was to produce a more lively paper that would appeal to the typical college student. First, we added reporting beats for technology/trends, culinary features and a student groups position to cover the more than 600 organizations previously left uncovered at Penn State.
We also revived our man-on-the-street, question-of-the-day spot called Voices, moving it to become a regular feature on an expanded Opinion page. We also revised our wire copy setup to add more news in brief, especially state news from many students' hometowns.
And keeping in touch with what students talk about and are interested in, we later added The Fine Line, a weekly, full-color page discussing relationships.
In the fall, we also emphasized the principle that journalism is not a formulaic equation in which you plug words into certain spots and file the story. It's more of an artform in which potentially boring stories need to be made interesting and meaningful, features lively and the entire package engaging. Sounds simple, but it's easier said than done. The push began immediately, but the results were gradual. Looking back, you can see a significant improvement in the quality of writing from our relatively younger reporting staff.
The one thing missing throughout the year, however, was news.
Sure, we had the election in November. That, certainly, was an enormous national event - the first presidential decision since Sept. 11, 2001, and the tight race in 2000. We saw the arrival of Theresa Heinz-Kerry on the University Park campus, as well as former hopeful Howard Dean and journalist Robert Novak. College campuses, formerly known for political apathy, became hot spots for debate and higher voter turnout - although neither President Bush nor Democrat challenger John Kerry visited the area.
And one of Centre County's biggest trials wrapped up just as the fall semester ended, with two bouncers acquitted of involuntary manslaughter in the 2003 death of a student outside the All-American Rathskeller.
Other than that, the fall and early spring were decidedly some of the dullest local news months we'd had in years.
Then came "the letter." You may have heard about "the letter" by now. The Collegian faced one of its biggest controversies in years after we printed a letter criticizing our decision to run a front-page photo of gay couples kissing during a Valentine's Day "Flaunt Your Sexuality Kiss-Out." In the days that followed, the gay and lesbian support group Allies held a press conference, we had limited local media attention, and we received about 400 e-mails. Many people criticized the "hate speech" and "bigotry" in the letter, and some blasted our decision to "perpetuate" that speech.
We never expected such a loud reaction, and contrary to conspiracy theories, we did not print it to generate readership.
While critics may regard that as a low point in the year, it was without a doubt one of our high points.
We stood up for the integrity of journalism and its purpose to represent all viewpoints, no matter how unpopular they might be.
After "the letter," big news stories began falling into our laps. Black Caucus, in scenes reminiscent of 2001's The Village, protested the university's alleged lack of action after a student screamed racial slurs and threats out a dorm window. The group emphasized that more must be done to improve the campus racial climate.
One sudden, tragic morning in late April a student died in an East Beaver Avenue house fire. The first student fire-related death in decades, it was a huge story, and our reporters handled that, too, with sensitivity and understanding.
For a couple weeks before then, the Collegian's headlines looked more like a large city's crime log than life in State College. There was a shooting, a stabbing, an alleged privacy invasion, rapes ... all unfortunate incidents, but we covered them.
With important news to deliver and explain, combined with our improvements throughout the year, the entire package was finally in place.
I am extremely proud and inspired by the fantastic work our staff did for the Collegian during this groundbreaking year.
And I am optimistic and excited to see Editor in Chief Jennette Hannah, a strong leader, continue this newspaper's legacy with even more improvement through the next year.
