EDITORIAL

Au revoir

ell, I see by the clock on the wall that it’s ) \ time to bid you, one and all ... good bye!”’

As my use of comedians Johnny Wayne and Frank Shuster’s trademark closing lines would indicate, the time has indeed come to say good- bye for this semester and close yet another chapter in the ongoing saga of the U.P.E.I. X- Press. This is the final issue of the 1992-93 university year, so it seems like the best time to say a few important things about next year and thank all of those involved in this year’s effort.

Regarding next year, one major develop- ment will be in our publishing schedule. For the past three years we’ve been a weekly newsmagazine, publishing about 24 issues each year during the university schedule. Our core staff is fairly small, so weekly production can be extremely demanding since most of us are full time students and, in some cases, working other jobs to boot. The result is that we are usually scrambling to find or produce material every week, and even when there aren’t techni- cal difficulties or unforseen emergencies (which there usually are) we often don’t have the time to finish everything to our complete satisfaction before the paper goes to the printers. So, in an attempt to increase the paper’s quality, make our lives easier, and prevent the inevitable mental and physical breakdown of our produc- tion editor, we discussed switching to a bi- weekly (twice a month) schedule, which would also save bundles on printing costs which we Could then direct into new staff and supplies. I and some other staff were reluctant to cut back Production that drastically, though, so we set- ‘led on a compromise of publishing three times each month, only skipping one week. It’s a minor deletion but will give the staff a bit more time to put everything together each month, a valuable breather that will help to make our Continued work possible and improved. Also, the money saved from the printing costs of those few less issues can be channelled into {uite a lot in terms of equipment and staff (the Printing bills for an issue can, depending on its Size, and content, run somewhere near a thou- Sand dollars). We will be sticking with our ‘ostly but user-friendly newsmagazine format, ‘Nd more details on next year/s set-up will be

vailable when we start up again in September. _ I should also take this opportunity to men- 'on the paid staff positions that will be open to ‘dents next year: photographer (thirty dollars

per issue) and circulation manager (distributing the paper to their drop-off spots, fifteen dollars per issue), and possibly others. We’re also creating a new position of staff newswriter, paying about $25.00 a week for cranking out features or campus news. See us for more details. Plus, as I men- tioned last issue, we de- pend heavily on volun- teers and welcome any

"You don't need to

eclectic publication. Thanks to Danielle Christensen, for turning in some of the most intelligent and thought-provoking writing this paper has ever seen before her duties at the radio station forced her to leave our ranks. Thanks to Robby MacPhail, whose wonderfully warped cartoons have been a source of amusement to both staff and readers alike. Thanks to Wendy Nicholson, whose contributions have included writing, photography, and illuminating socio- economic commentary via conversation (not to mention the use of her late, lamented dream home for the ARCUP Conference). Thanks to Stacy Dunn for her help with the ARCUP conference and her tenacious

students who want to do b ea b ri Tf [ i an t or dedication to our some writing or help out r mailing output be- in any way. It can bea exp erien ced fore her departure. lot of fun, there aresome ‘ . Thanks to Michelle perks, it’s valuable ex- journa list." Harris, the disap- perience, and it’sagood pearing entertain- way to get to know your ment editor, for

university and a lot of

the people in it. You don’t need to be a brilliant or experienced journalist, though we won’t turn you down if you are.

Finally, in no particular order, I must say thank you to a lot of people. Thanks to Kirby Ferguson, who as production editor has laid out the newspaper with more skill, dedication and artistry than any of his predecessors (not to mention turning in a lot of music criticism and other writing). Thanks to Andrew MacPherson (a beacon of sanity in our off beat crowd), who as Ad Manager has worked tirelessly to sell ads, write stories for us (!), and redeem the reputa- tion of engineers everywhere. Thanks to Chris McCarron, our photographer, for (what else?) taking pictures and making various other strange contributions to our miasmic melting pot of material. Thanks to Todd Petrie, our typesetter, for putting in long hours at a tough job with a lot

- of professionalism and patience and volunteer-

ing to pitch in some of our all-too rare sports features. Thanks to Carol Schneider, currently our longest-running volunteer, who has con- tributed quite a few articles, done oodles of proofreading and has been like my ri ght hand in the office, as well as a very good friend and a bubbly wellspring of enthusiasm unparalleled among staff members. Thanks to Stan Livingstone, who has been one of the most dedicated consistent and talented literary con- tributors we’ve enjoyed in years. Thanks to Gail Moore for her years of unsung literary greatness as our sole recurring sports columnist (Lord we’re gonna miss you). Thanks to Trent Drake, whose always offbeat contributions have added yet another twist of the absurd to our

writing and typing various things for us. Thanks to Craig Douglas for his challenging and heartfelt prose. Thanks to Joel Sutherland for his invaluable artistic contributions. Thanks to Daniel Laronde for his outspoken writing and Darcy MacPherson for his computer work and all the other contributors including but by no means limited to, Erinn Moore, Thomas Fricke, Bruce Davison, David Miller, David Ramsay, Kent Murnaghan, Todd King, Steve McOrmond, Nola MacDonald, Kheng-wee Wah, Jack D. Proud, Alana Jarvis, Brian Arsenault, Mike Bertrand, Dave Weldon, the various clubs, and all the letter writers. Your contributions, no matter how small, help make the paper possible, and I thank you all for it.

Td also like to thank Betty, Bruce, Heather and the other folks at the Student Union for their help. I also must thank my professors for their uniformly saintly patience with all the missed classes and extensions and such that my job here contributes to. I;d like to thank my family and friends for their support, and before this monstrous ramble sounds even more like an Oscar acceptance speech gone bad, I should thank the readers, especially the students. It’s for you that the paper is produced, and because of you we exist, and I hope we are able to produce the best possible product for you in the future. To quote Johnny and Frank again, ‘*Adieu bon vue, a la prochaine, good bye till when we meet again!’

Sean McQuaid Editor-in-chief