New Year, New Plans

In the wake of the events in Los Angeles last spring, American newspapers are looking more closely at their coverage of minority communities and the diversity of their own staffs. And with campuses struggling to deal better with diversity, college newspapers across the nation are facing the same issues.

What will come of these overdue efforts remains to be seen. But we at The Crimson are committed to changing things this year. With your help, we hope to see some exciting results soon and better serve the entire community.

It is commonly accepted among liberal and conservative journalists alike that diversity in the newsroom enhances diversity and quality of news coverage. At The Crimson, this is the case to an unusually high degree.

While the major dailies gather much of their news through press briefings and wire services, The Crimson relies primarily upon its editors. With some groups underrepresented on the staff, including not only certain racial minorities but also certain political and religious communities, we are bound to be imperfect. Some events will not come to our attention; some important subtleties will be missed.

Last spring, minorities on campus rightly pointed out the lack of racial diversity at The Crimson. Some charges were overstated, but the essential point was correct. More diversity is necessary. Not just with regards to race, but in all areas.

For example, in houses and dorms where few Crimson editors live, we are often poorly informed of events and issues. That few Crimson editors concentrate in the sciences means our coverage of science suffers.

And we find that our lack of conservatives and religious students means that we sometimes don't learn about events of interest to those communities.

It is with this in mind that we set out this term strongly committed to diversifying our organization.

In many ways we are caught in a catch-22. Because our staff could be more diverse, some minorities take their journalistic skills elsewhere. Hyperbolic assertions about racism at The Crimson make the task of recruiting more minorities almost impossible.

But when minorities do begin writing for the paper, they become editors and executives at every level. Most of us on the staff who come from minority backgrounds find The Crimson hospitable and rewarding.

Last spring, Crimson editors met extensively with campus minority representatives about racial tension on campus--about what was causing it and how to stop it. The following changes and enhancements are the by-product of what we learned:

. As part of a traditional introductory comp meeting on Friday, September 25, we will hold a discussion on minorities in journalism and at The Crimson with Lee Daniels '71 of The New York Times.

. The next day, we will convene a conference on race relations and journalism. Panelists will include Anthony Lewis of The New York Times, Barbara Guiterrez of El Nuevo Herald Miami and Terry Tang of the Seattle Times. All are welcome.

. Representatives of some minority groups have volunteered to serve as official press contacts for our reporters. These students said they will also be available to write guest commentaries representing their organizations. In addition, Crimson editors will be available to meet with groups on campus in regular meetings to discuss our coverage or other events on campus.

. We have introduced a monthly editorial "Roundtable" for members of the community to discuss a single topic affecting the University. See the box nearby for details.

The Crimson has a fundamental responsibility to increase the diversity of our staff in order to cover the news more adequately. Our overriding goal as a newspaper is to provide an accurate portrayal of life on campus, and we realize that we can't do that without proper representation of all groups on campus.

But if the campus newspaper is to be as interactive this fall as it can be, the community has to be involved as well. We want to hear your suggestions, we want to hear about your events, we want to know what upsets you. Ultimately, without your cooperation, we won't succeed. So call us. Or, better still, join the staff. The number is 495-9666.