June 4, 1998

The Appalachian publishes its first summer edition

For the first time, The Appalachian will be published during the summer sessions.  There will be six regular editions and two special editions focusing on orientation and back to school.

According to the Center for Student Involvement and Leadership (CSIL),  during past summers there have been CSIL staff produced newsletters such as The Appalachian Times devoted only to reporting upcoming campus events.

David Freeman,  Director of Student Publications,  and Dino Dibernardi,  Director of CSIL,  both hope a summer edition of The Appalachian will allow more students to participate in the production of the paper.

“It is an excellent opportunity for those students who do not get a chance to participate with the paper during the regular school year due to heavy schedules or other obligations,” Freeman said.   “It is also a good opportunity for the  communication students who learned the theory of journalism in class to put it into practice working for the paper.”

Dibernardi added that he hopes that a regularly produced version of The Appalachian will keep students better informed of upcoming university events and occurrences.  He also thinks a regular summer paper will give The Appalachian more of a professional reputation than if it was discontinued for the summer.
 
The Orientation special edition will be full of information directed at the students participating in orientation during the month of July.  It will contain information about the campus,  classes  and the university.

“Its goal is to help new students develop expectations for the upcoming school year,” Dibernardi said.

The Back to School special edition will be released the first week of classes for the fall semester.  Information will be directed toward incoming freshmen,  transfers  and returning students.  Freeman said that it will provide an update of all the changes that Appalachian underwent over the summer and the changes it expects to undergo during the school year.  It will also provide information telling students how they can get involved in campus activities.

The summer edition is being published on a trial basis.

“The need for a summer Appalachian will be defined by the readership,  the educational value,  advertisers, and the learning experience it provides,” Diberbardi said.

He said that he wants to give the paper at least three years before a decision is made on whether to continue the summer paper.

Dibernardi  thinks there is a big market for a summer newspaper.  He said there is a market in the enrolled students,  participants in summer camps held on campus,  tourists and the people on campus for all of the Appalachian Summer activities.”
 
 
 

E-mail The Appalachian Online at theapp@conrad.appstate.edu