SEPTEMBER 22, 2006

Rob Walker Editor in Chief -

“Journalism can never be silent: that is its greatest virtue and its greatest fault. It must speak, and speak immediately, while the echoes of wonder, the claims of triumph and the signs

of horror are still in the air.”

-Henry Anatole Grunwald

Another school year, another $10,000 in debt. No matter how well the first semester of the year starts off, and this one has been great, that bit of info always seems to hang over my head for the first few weeks. I guess it’s a by-product of wanting to get the most from my money, tempered with the knowledge that I’m only human and not wanting to burn myself out by December.

That being said, things are really heating up around The Cadre offices. We’re putting the finishing touches on our first issue of the year, gearing up for our next issue and working on a lot of new improvements that should help make The Cadre one of the best student papers out there.

I know what you're thinking, because I thought it too. While I was at Holland College studying journalism, we used to make fun of The Cadre all the time. It’s an easy target, I suppose: An underfunded, understaffed and untrained student paper under the yoke of the student union. What I’ve realized since then is that it’s easy to mock, and not nearly as easy to put my money where my mouth is.

The Cadre is only as good as we make it. And I’m not using the royal ‘we’ here or even talking about our current staff. I mean ‘we’ as in all of us here at UPEI. We’re all in this together, one way or another. So the next time you find yourself poking fun at this paper (and I’m sure even this article will get a few laughs) think of what you could do instead. Don’t like what’s been printed? Send an email or a letter, or stop by the office. Really enjoy something? Do the same. Really ticked off by something or think you could do it better yourself? Write something for us. Our meetings are open to everyone, and we have free pizza as well as money set aside for volunteers and freelancers. We'd love to have more letters to the editor this year too, so send “em in.

Right Here and Now

..-AS opposed to somewhere else and later.

Rather than rant more, I’m going to paste The Cadre’s goals from our policy guide. These are the guidelines we set for ourselves during the school year:

1. That The Cadre must provide a forum for the free exchange of

ideas and opinions among, but not limited to, the students of UPEI.

2.That The Cadre shall provide information about current affairs affecting the students of UPEI on campus, provincial, regional, national and international levels, as well as various articles and items of general interest (features, sports, arts and entertainment, reviews, creative writing, art, cartoons, etc.)

3. That The Cadre shall attempt to cover all facets of university life.

4.The Cadre will attempt to entertain, as well as inform, UPEI students.

On top of those goals, I can promise that we will investigate to the best of our abilities any issues or concerns students have. Also, our goal is to be honest in both intention and fact, so if you see us slipping or something doesn’t ring true, please don’t assume it is due to an agenda or anything like that. Just let us know and we'll do our best to correct it. We’re all busy students here who do this-for fun (because it sure isn’t the fat paycheck, I can tell you that much). We’re human, and we make mistakes.

We’re not interested in the status quo. For instance, since when did standing up for yourself start being called ‘stubborn’. Too often these days people are afraid to question authority

or challenge the way things are, just because that’s how they’ve been done in the past. Fear of being labeled as a troublemaker or a pain in the ass or even just as being ‘different’ keeps too many people quiet. This year, speak your mind, fight for your passions and never let anyone make you feel small. We don’t ask much, do we?

“Real journalism can always be identified by the way it makes normal people sometimes feel very uncomfortable about the world”

- Charles M. Madigan

I would not be so arrogant as to ask you to agree with everything that goes into The Cadre this year. In all honesty, I would have much less respect for you, the reader, if you did. Instead, I ask that you pick up this paper with an open mind: open to stories which might very well challenge ideas or ideals that you hold valuable.

There will be articles asking hard questions, awkward subjects will be addressed and I’m sure more than one article will make you scratch your head in wonder that it got in at all. My hope is that at the end of the year, something you read will touch you, make you laugh, make you angry or, even better, make you think. If we can do this for even one person each issue, whether it be student, professor, UPEI employee or curious passerby...then maybe this paper can mean something after all.

With those goals and an eager, honest staff I welcome you to a new year for the cadre. We'll try to live up to our promises and keep you entertained and informed...

One issue at a time.

- Rob Walker Editor in Chief

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