LAST TUESDAY, The Cavalier Daily held a community concerns meeting during its own production hours at 7 p.m. in the Newcomb Ballroom. Representing the CD was the entire managing board as well as a few section editors. Representing the concerned community were, throughout the approximately 90-minute meeting, about a dozen folks from different organizations, from Intramural-Recreation Sports to the Office of African-American Affairs to Student Council, among others.
Why the low turnout? The meeting was advertised quite well throughout the newspaper. Folks had been writing letters consistently and emotionally, especially in reference to the A-J Aronstein column. At 7 p.m., however, it was just the CD representatives, a rep from IM-Rec, and the chair of the University Board of Elections, a former executive editor at the CD. As time wore on, more folks traipsed in with questions to ask and concerns to address. The meeting, though small, was a success in that the CD opened itself up to questions in a public way and explained its process to interested parties. Among the topics addressed were columnist selection (why so many conservatives?), recruitment (where are the minority staff members?), ad layout (how come some ads look different in print?) and Student Council coverage (why does coverage usually seem negative?). These were good issues to discuss, and the CD confronted them honestly and openly, for which I commend them. Not all organizations are willing to open themselves up for public dissection, but the CD clearly has interest in its relationship with the community.
The questions addressed were important ones, but the one that most piqued my interest as ombudsman was one posed by M. Rick Turner, dean of the Office of African-American Affairs, who wanted to know what the CD could do to more successfully recruit black staff members. In the past, members of the managing board have tabled Spring Fling, attended Black Student Alliance meetings and passed sign-up sheets around, but the end results have been less than a rousing success. What is it that creates a disconnect between the CD and potential writers, photographers or designers of a minority background? Is it a "culture of exclusion" as Turner suggested, and, if so, is it a one-sided one? What can the Cav Daily do to make its minority recruitment efforts more successful? I encourage readers to send to the Cav Daily or me their own ideas to accomplish such goals, or comments on why current efforts have not yielded higher results.
On to the print edition
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