Jessie Heath:

When I look back at my freshman year on student media, I see the insecure, quiet version of myself who wasn’t sure how to approach an article and had no idea how to go about designing a paper.  Over the last two years I have learned how to give my articles perspective, when to lead and when to follow, and how to layout a paper. I see the improvements smallTALK has made and the improvements we have yet to make.

One of my main goals for next year is to figure out a way to connect the rest of the campus with the military students who attend class here. I have spoken to multiple soldiers on our campus to see how they feel smallTALK can better cater to their needs as students. I would like to incorporate the yellow ribbon program on campus into the newspaper by including more articles and upcoming events that focus on uniting our school with the community around us.

Obviously, a newspaper should be aesthetically pleasing.  I plan to continue to work on creating a layout that is pleasing to the eye.  Our layout looks much better than it did in 2007, but I firmly believe that everything can always be improved.  I will work to have dominant art on each page, instead of multiple graphics that pull readers in several directions at the same time.  I would like to start incorporating text into graphics (such as the last issue’s “Baseball is a homerun” article) to tie together graphics and articles in a way that captions cannot.

Readership is important for any publication, and smallTALK is no exception. Mass Communications Professor Daniel Trigoboff suggested that the paper be distributed in the cafeteria, over beside the television area  I have also seen students reading papers in the Lion’s Den that were left there by others, and I think that the papers should be distributed on tables as well as in racks near major traffic areas.

While we were in New York, I saw a paper that had a faculty-quote box in their news section.  The quotes told what various faculty members and administrators were doing in their departments and was used to keep students up-to-date on departmental events and issues.  I think smallTALK could do a very similar thing in next year’s paper to help students stay aware of what is happening in the academic world of Methodist.

Aryn Hicks:

I joined the smallTALK staff at the beginning of my sophomore year at Methodist. At that time, I had no idea what AP style was, nor did I have any clue that there was a proper way to express your opinion in a publication. Since then, I have grown a lot. I have learned how to layout the smallTALK publication, cover difficult angles on stories, and how to interact with people to conduct an interview. smallTALK has come a long way since I joined the staff, but there are still some changes that need to be made.

One of my major goals for next year is to strengthen the bond between Student Media, the student body, and the university faculty and administration. There has been some tension between the newspaper staff and certain groups within the MU community. Without cooperation between the groups, the paper cannot effectively and objectively report stories on campus. This leads to misunderstandings when reporting and misconceptions within the student population. By building a stronger bond between the groups, smallTALK can report the news fairly and truthfully.

I also hope to increase communication between Student Media members to smooth out issues that can affect the paper. When there is a lack of communication between staff members, it shows in the newspaper. It leads to graphics not matching with stories, as well as story angles that are inconsistently covered through the article. Increasing staff communication includes being understanding of staff members’ circumstances and situations. A well informed staff is a happy staff, and a happy staff creates a successful publication that students and faculty members can be proud of.

Increasing readership is an important goal that be tackled next year. Getting more students to read the paper is difficult because there are so many aspects that can affect readership. Encouraging students to write Letters to the Editor, or Editors, will allow us to make reasonable changes to help promote others to read smallTALK. More photos and graphics to pages with lots of text will make smallTALK issues more aesthetically pleasing, which will encourage more people to read. Including current event articles that apply directly impact the lives of students and staff will not only help increase readership, but will make students more aware of the world outside of the campus gates.

It will take work and time. But overall, Jessie Heath and I will do our best to put out a publication that is both informative and entertaining. We do not just print a paper for our health. We do it to keep people informed about the campus and community. Okay, and we do it to add a little bit of spice to everyday life. 

To the staff, I bequeath to you all of my scholarly possessions, which aren’t much...

To Jessie: I leave you my brilliant technique for checking tires for leaks.

To Aryn: I leave you my clutter, to amuse yourself with.

To Austin: I leave you a supply of attack commas, use them wisely.

To Ashley: I leave you a sharp, pointy pen; for poking the Man every once in a while.

To Keisha: I leave you the mega blocks, for building an empire. Or at least as much as you can with 750 blocks.

To Skyler: I leave you a “rawr,” may it serve you well when disciplining minions.

To Josh: I leave you the doughnuts, for bribing people.

To Tiffany: I leave you a smaller suitcase.

To Sung: I leave you a map, so that you can find a Pho King where ever you go.

And to Matt: You can take the golf cart with you, I hear there are kittens all over the place.