Eulogy for Over the Edge’s BiWeekly Lover Editor’s Message - Cody Willett, Editor in Chief They say change is a fact of life. Over the Edge, as a UNBC’s official student newspaper, has had a storied existence full of change over its fourteen year span. We’ve been variously dedicated to campus and community news, arts and culture reviews, as well as sports and clubs coverage. Feature and opinion based issues of OTE have been the mainstay which the rest of the paper wraps itself around in various emphasis and detail. With each new combination of volunteer editorial and writ- ing staffs, OTE shifts its focus. This kind of variation in our coverage suits many readers just fine, while others lament the lack of at- tention to what they think we need to be re- porting on. Those readers have a valid bone of contention. I jomed the OTE editorial board this year, after writing my Rumbling Echo column for the better part of the previous year. It must surprise few that in taking the position of Edi- tor in Chief, my background in Political Sci- ence and International Studies would make me predisposed to augmenting that end of OTE’s coverage. After all, we as citizens of a globalizing world must stay informed of the issues and challenges our nations and peoples must endure in the face of a Global War on Terror. I thought it would be easy to persuade and retain a writing staff capable of covering the whole spectrum of news, campus to inter- national, from our unique student perspective. Man, was I wrong. Many students, myself included, can barely find time enough to get their assignments done, let alone inform other students about what’s going on all around them. I’ve visited many a classroom to make the pitch for contributing to this process. It’s been damn near impossible to even keep a full editorial staff intact. Our circulation has stayed relatively steady thanks to all of you, but I can see that without an influx of fresh faces and enthusiasm, Over the Edge risks sliding into irrelevance. That said, I am thankful for the editorial team OTE still has, as they have carried on with our legacy formed in years past. But what are editors for? By definition they de- cide what stories to cover, help fill in the gaps a writing staff can’t handle, and put all that content together into an informative and en- joyable read. As it stands now, OTE’s editors end up writing most of the paper themselves for lack of input from student writers. If OTE is supposed to be the voice of the students, how can it be that several student editors end up representing that whole group? The short answer is that we can’t. With Al Gore’s invention of the internet, people have begun to look to the world wide web for their news. After all it’s got more var- iety and is better for the environment, As a .Tesult, newspapers have started to go the way of the Dodo. Across North America news- papers have ceased to be profitable. Journal- ists have been laid off en mass as readership drops precipitously. Over the Edge may have advertising revenue and student subsidiza- tion, but after the managing editor we started last semester with embezzled funds in excess of $20,000, I think that the time is right to ree- valuate our M.O. After all, we’ve changed be- fore. OTE has existed in several incarnations over the years, from weekly to bi-weekly to weekly to bi-weekly with a monthly maga- zine and back to bi-weekly again. Is it time for a change? I think so. Our office in the Wintergarden is lonely. We’re not a hub of bustling journalistic activity like we used to be. Staying connected to an ever busier stu- dent body is proving to be a challenge. How can we make it easier for students to stay con- nected to the campus and community around them? How can we encourage students to take back control of the media at UNBC? I think we have the answer. Over the Edge has a plan to reinvent itself. While newspapers die and two-week old news gets stale quick in our fast-paced world, the internet is dynamic and everywhere. After ‘Reading Week’ in February we will launch our most ambitious project to date. Over the Edge will assume its new incarnation as a fully interactive student media and informa- tion portal at OTEONLINE.COM. Think Myspace or Facebook for the entire UNBC student community. We’ll still stay true to our roots though. We know you sometimes just need that something to read on the bus or before class. That’s why OTE will still pub- lish a monthly newspaper full of insightful Arts; Features and Opinions content. Some of it can be taken from the great stuff you put up at oteonline. Hate getting ink all over your hands? I envision a site where UNBC students can pen articles of their own to be posted and shared with everyone else in real- time. The concept is called. “crowd-powered media” and each student becomes a writer. Now, I’m not talking about students writ- ing full news stories or feature articles (un- less that’s your bag), but rather tapping out a few sentences about a sweet party going on in Rez, a club fundraiser taking place in the Agora, or a groovy show happening down at Artspace. If you’re checking out the news at bbc.com and want to share it and your two cents with the rest of us, oteonline.com will allow you to post your comments along side a link to the story. Of course, Over the Edge editors will still do their part to maintain a standard of decency and decorum in moderat- ing the site, but essentially control of UNBC’s student media will pass back into the hands of students, where it belongs. In addition to students taking back the abil- ity to share news, opinions and information with each other in a freed up arena, other features we intend to put into oteonline.com will make our new format the must-have homepage for UNBC students. Oteonline lets you interact by uploading music, videos, pictures and other creativity so that other stu- dents can appreciate UNBC’s vibrant arts and culture scene with you. Links to streaming audio via CFUR and other podcasts/stream- ing radio will keep you connected with the freshest new music. Link up your blog, post links to other sweet sites and share resources for group projects if you want. I envision oteonlinie in partnership with the rest of the local community as well. Little by little, businesses in tune with UNBC’s student demographic are setting up shop in the down- town. Oteonline will keep students informed about the coolest stores and restaurants so that we students can help support local busi- nesses and downtown revitalization. With more space than a newspaper would allow, we can give free space to advertise commun- ity events and volunteer opportunities. Want to start a petition for increased recycling op- tions or against development of the Univer- sity Heights Neighbourhood Plan? Get the exposure you need on oteonline. Hopefully we can crossbreed Facebook, Myspace and Flickr using oteonline as a central piece of a seamless online experience for your time here at UNBC. My time at UNBC, however, is limited. As Editor in Chief I would like nothing more than to see this transition to completion, stu- dent body willing. I’m not taking a course this semester though, and I’ll be leaving UNBC before the end of exams. Instead of leaving this project half completed, and my successor with little to go off of in September, I want to see someone step up to help make this project a-success as the next EIC starting this semes- ter. I'll resign after our Annual General Meet- ing on January 31 if a qualified member of OTE (anyone who paid their $5 with student fees) steps forward to help build a stronger team of existing and incoming editors. The time is right for student driven media to re- build its format and make a bigger impact on student awareness. Help Over the Edge con- tinue its fourteen year long tradition of being the student’s voice on campus by participating in our Downtwn Connekt Contest, attending our brief AGM, and supporting UNBC’s new multimedia web community coming online February at oteonline.com. Editor’s Message - Mitch Grant, Photo Editor Well what a ride. It has been nearly a year since I officially took this position and another half a year before that writing and doing freelance photos. I have sat here through the ups and downs and done my best for the future of the paper. But of course, my best is from my point of view. What is that point of view? Where do I see the paper in five, or maybe even ten years? Media is rapidly: changing in all forms. There is almost no point in paying for subscriptions to the major newspapers any- more, as almost all of them have their major stories online. I believe Amazon and Hewlett Packard (I am almost 100% sure about Amazon, not so sure on other partners as it has been a while since I have read about it or seen it in the news) are of- ficially releasing a PDA style device for the sole purpose of reading. It will be connected to Amazon.com where people will be able to buy books, read and store them on their devices. What does that mean for students? No longer will backpacks have to be the size of small bank vaults to hold textbooks, and no longer will students have to cover the costs of shipping either when ordering or buying on the shelf. What does a reading PDA have to do with newspapers? Well | with papers already online in many respects, one can reason- ably expect that - as print becomes more of a dead medium every day - your yearly subscription to the Globe, or the issue featuring the latest UNBC research, will be available to buy and read online as well. Because of the age we live in where everything from your phone to your car and everything in between is a multimedia device connected to every hub and service out there, should not the paper supported by you, our readership, move in a dit- ection to best guarantee our continued service to you in a top quality manner that will allow us here at OTE to remain “over the edge” and ahead of the curve? In that sense I see Over the Edge becoming far more interactive for our readership, and would like to see the paper move in a direction that allows that openness on both sides and see a paper that encourages and supports topic conversation, whether it be on the assassination of Benzir Bhutto or whether the newest local band deserves praise. Editor’s Message - Tabatha Lundholm - Arts Editor and Ads Manager So we’re turning into a zine! Finally! I don’t know about all you OTE readers, but being the Arts Editor for the last three years I am SO glad that we’re finally taking the arts content by the reins and running with it. Yes, we’re also going huge with all of our news and time-sensitive topics, but for the most part having this new format is going to be both eco-friendly, as well as a better way for stu- dents to keep up-to-date with what’s going on around Prince George and_on campus. With the zine we will be able to do more in-depth interviews with local artists and “musicians, as well as offer a wide range of reviews and charts. We’re going to be like Rolling Stone, but not as pretentious and full of ourselves. And much smaller... But the main part is that we’re getting big- ger, better, and more interactive to better serve you all the entertainment and cultural goings- on within our community. Having a monthly magazine instead of a bi-weekly newspaper will offer a greater opportunity to up and coming journalists, creative writers, and art- ists themselves to showcase their talent. Even if you’re not a writer, or don’t have faith in your grammatical skills, don’t worry. We have staff members that work to make what you write look right and make sense. There’s no obligation, and there’s no pressure. If you have a big exam coming up, and don’t have time to write anything, no worries. There’s always the next issue. I am looking forward to having this month- ly magazine, and it’s not going to be just arts content. There will be an Opinions section, for whatever yanks your crank or grinds your gears this month. There. will be a Creative Writing section, a Humour section, as well as Photography, Reviews and Features. So if you have something you want to write about and have published, feel free to send it in to us. And we’re always looking for new people to help broaden our zine. For all news writers and the like, our new format online will help you get a grip on today’s world in online journalism. And we can help you and give you pointers if you’re unsure of yourself. Anyway, that’s it. I just wanted to say how friggin’ excited I am that we’re going to be able to expand this so it suits more people and caters to what you want to read about. And if you don’t see anything worth reading, write something that is.