anhlc/ Mantel V 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
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     89 
     
    
   
   
    
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     April 12, 1984 
     
    
   
   
    
     The N etted Gem 
     
    
   
   
    
     Volume 1, Number 18 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
     Staff 
     
    
   
   
    
     Winding down  that’s us. We’re a sorry bunch of tired news- 
     
     people. But are we sorry we joined this glorious ventur. "3 You be: your 
     
     sweet potato we’re not! 
     
    

    
     We are Melanie, Ruth, John, John, and Jon, Howard, Darker. 
     
     Carolyn, Gus, Karen, Leah, LoriAnne, Ed et al (no we don’t really 
     
    

    
     know anyone named Al. Do you?) 
     
    
   
   
    
     The Netted Gem is the weekly student newspaper of the University 
     
     of Prince Edward Island. Views expressed herein are possibly not 
     
     those of the Student Union or its executive. We reserve the right 
     
     to edit copy for space, style, legal, or purely arbitrary reasons. Letters 
     
    
   
   
    
     7.. r‘v 
     
    
   
   
    
     to the Editor must be typed, double-spaced, and submitted before 
     
     noon on Monday. We hate letters exceeding 500 words and do nasty 
     
     things to them. All letters must be signed, but names can be withheld 
     
     in consultation with the Editor. Our sanctuary is located on the 
     
     fourth floor of the Main Building. Our extension is 387, and our staff 
     
     meetings are at 4:20 on Monday afternoons. 
     
    

    
     The Netted Gem is a member in adequate sta riding with Canadian 
     
     University Press, and attempts to uphold that cooperative's 
     
     Statement of Principles. Write us care of the Student Union, UPEl, 
     
     Charlottetown, PEl CIA 4P3. 
     
    

    
     Y’all come back and read us now, y’hear? 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
         
     
       
     
    
   
   
    
     fglly realize we 
     
    
   
   
    
       
     
    
   
   
    
            
     
    
   
   
    
     This is the last issue of the first year of the publication of 
     
     the first typeset student newspaper of the University of Prince 
     
     Edward Island. 
     
     There ——' five “of’s” in the first sentence. I always wanted 
     
     to do that. c 
     
     But seriously, loyal, readers, the staff ‘wants to thank you all 
     
     for being so patient with us as we found our feetg'Admittedly, 
     
     it’s been a rocky, change-swept year. 
     
     And this may come as a surprise, but wig 
     
     haven’t at all times been perfect.  *2; ,f;:_4;:3 i, - . 
     
    

    
     We did come close a couple of timhgethgughéj   2“ 
     
    

    
     Ah well .. . 
     
    

    
     The UPEI Student Union newspaper (SUN) started in 
     
     September with no editor and no staff, but it did start. For 
     
     three or four weeks, the executive, led by VP External Kim 
     
     Gass, made sure your had something to look at every 
     
     Thursday. 
     
    

    
     Thanks, guys! 
     
    

    
     Then Denise Richardson was selected as editor, and realized 
     
     we needed a major change. She called in the Atlantic field- 
     
     worker for Canadian University Press, Rick Janson, who 
     
     actually slept in the office for the couple of weeks it took to 
     
     create a real newspaper. . 
     
    

    
     Rich once said jokingly that the SUN, out of the 53 papers 
     
     then members of CUP, was probably rated 53rd. 
     
    

    
     For once and for all, no such rating scheme exists. Rick 
     
     has been involved in CUP for years, and made the call based 
     
     on his own knowledge of the members. 
     
    

    
     However, the SUN was pretty bad — so bad as to be called 
     
     “a Council ragsheet” among other university papers. The 
     
     newly enthused staff decided to try a different image. 
     
    

    
     Enter the Netted Gem. 
     
    

    
     Now, before you animals start growling 'about the name 
     
     again, “Oh yeah, the Potato Press ...”, let’s throw a couple 
     
     of quotes at you.  
     
    

    
     How’s this? “One of the best small newspapers in the 
     
     region”. Said at an Atlantic region CUP conference in St. 
     
     John’s in March, and no, not by someone from our own staff. 
     
    

    
     Or this  “the best student newspaper to come out of the 
     
     Island in recent memory (and for its size one of the country’s 
     
     best)”. Said in a letter from the staff of the Dalhousie 
     
     Gazette. 
     
    

    
     The same letter: “The elation involved in reading real news 
     
     stories of importance to UPEI students isn’t easy to express.”. 
     
    

    
     Okay, so it’s underhanded to praise yourself in the last issue 
     
     of the year, so that noone can write back immediately to 
     
     take the stuffing out of you. Butlit’s awfully nice to know that 
     
     we’re not blundering off in the wrong direction. 
     
    

    
     That’s not to say that ,it didn’t take us a while to find the 
     
     right direction, or that the task is by any means finished. The 
     
     first few issues especially contained too many articles of little 
     
     interest to you, as you were quick to tell us. And the last 
     
     few issues have suffered as staff members realize that there 
     
     are papers other than newspapers, and tests on matters other 
     
     than joiJrnalistic skill and integrity. 
     
    

    
     But now we think we can start strongly next year with a 
     
     replenished staff, and a more stable editorial policy and 
     
     philosophy. There are things happening on this campus that 
     
     students should know about, and even some they would enjoy 
     
     knowing about, and we want to hit on them all. 
     
    

    
     And perhaps best of all, we’ve learned that it can be fun to 
     
     put out a newspaper, be it Netted or Nutty Gem. and thatit 
     
     should be fun, for both writer and reader. 
     
    

    
     Next year will see Carolyn Ryan returning as editor, 
     
     grateful as usual for the blessed staff. Hopefully, this—will 
     
     include Joh, John, and Jon, Leah, Lori Anne, and Mickey, 
     
     Ruth, Sharon, Melanie, and  you? 7' 
     
    

    
     Ask any of us  it’s a ball, as well as being good experience, 
     
     educational, and an ego-booster. 
     
    

    
     Oh, those golden by-lines ...l