Fond farewell to The College Times

In the momentous transition for the school to become a university, many changes have occurred. New logos were unveiled, the digital learning center built, new faculty hired, a master’s degree introduced, and, following in suit, The College Times is moving away from its college days as well.

For over 20 years, the independent voice of Utah Valley State has been The College Times. Before UVSC became a community college, the name of the paper was The Tradewinds. Once the school changed academic levels to become a college, The College Times emerged. Starting with typewriters, cutting and pasting articles onto the page — tedious work was necessary to get the paper on the stands.

The first Macs with word processing and laser printers provided progress in the process of actually laying down pages. Over the years, technology has thrown the newspaper industry a bone with design programs where everything can be laid out on one page and saved to a CD.

The June 30 edition of this campus’ student newspaper will debut as the UVU Review. This occasion has stirred various emotions from our staff and has granted us the nostalgic opportunity to look back on the progress and history of our publication.

From interviewing current staff members, advisors and administrators, one thing stands out as what makes The College Times just that: the students that work on the paper.

In this time of incomparable change to the campus, the UVU Review’s commitment to report the important issues and events on campus for the students, by students, will not change. Continuing in its tradition of excellence, accuracy and integrity, the UVU Review will remain, as it always has been, the independent student voice of Utah Valley University.

We bid The College Times a fond farewell and offer a warm welcome to the UVU Review.

Robbin Anthony, office manager:
My experience with The College Times began as a nontraditional student seeking a new writing experience.

Through the journalism classes, I was introduced to the opportunity to write for the paper, and my entire life changed because of that experience. My year as a student editor is one of the highlights of my college career. Following that experience, I was hired as the newspaper business manager and ad manager. Because of this position with the college, I have spent over 11 additional years working with a large number of student staff members who have been remarkable examples of excellence.

The most important stories I have seen in The College Times haven’t been those printed in the newspaper. The most important stories are those of the staff members themselves. It has been the life-changing stories of the students who have engaged in this creative process, who have grown into different people than they would have been if they had missed this experience that has, in turn, inspired me. To me, it’s about the brilliant people I have worked with. In fact, the students I have worked with have been some of the greatest gifts in my life, and they are the primary reason I choose to work with The College Times.

As the school itself moves to university status, and the paper follows suit and moves to redefine who we are and what we do, I believe the stories will only become richer and more diverse. I look forward to many additional years of sharing this experience with the greatest storytellers anywhere.

Vegor Pedersen, editor in chief 2004-2005:

I remember when we broke the story that Michael Moore was coming to UVSC. I walked into our weekly staff meeting and wrote “Michael Moore” on the board and said, “OK guys, this is our story for the rest of the year.” I was sort of joking at the time, but actually it kind of turned out that way. I remember how proud I was when I watched the local news coverage over the following days, and there were reporters holding our paper. We had scooped them all!

I would love to see more hard news coverage. I really like it when the paper does thoughtful and deep investigative pieces. It takes reporters who are willing to put in the legwork, but it provides an absolutely essential service to the campus community. I like the movie reviews, but I would rather see more profiles about local artists and musicians. I guess I have always seen the paper as a responsibility, and that responsibility starts in our own backyard. I wish The Review all the luck in the world.

Jessica Peterson, editor in chief 2006-2007:

I am so grateful for the opportunity to work with The College Times. As editor in chief, I gained valuable and applicable real life experience, not to mention a very positive college experience. The relationships that were formed and the opportunity to represent the school made the work very rewarding. Good luck UVU Review.

Eleanor Cleverly-Takahashi, editor in chief 2007-2008:

I’d like to see the UVU Review become a publication that reports critically and intelligently on the happenings at our university. Our publication is the most accessible forum for students to not only voice their opinions about our institution and community, but also to enact change. It would be wonderful if more students became engaged in these dialogues.

Jack Jared Waters, editor in chief 2008-2009:

The College Times has enabled me myriad opportunities, from a phone call interview with Bill Clinton to simply working directly with faculty, staff and students of Utah Valley in amazing ways. I’ve also made some of the greatest lifelong friends I could ask for.

There’s nothing better than working as a journalist. The stones get thrown from both sides. One day we are the "liberal media," and the next we are conservative scum. I like to think that we give voice to the forgotten and forsaken. Essentially, The College Times sings the body electric.

Brent Sumner, Director:

When you think about it, it’s like saying farewell to a good friend.  You know that you have had some great times together, but life continues to move on. Look at what The College Times has done for the college, and it’s part of the reason why students attend school. They want to receive some kind of education and experience in the fields they choose. The student newspaper is as important as any department or discipline a student can devote time to on campus. Where else can you get the experience of the journalism world? Students can be better prepared to enter the workforce with some experience in writing, and, in some cases, criticisms of their writing from faculty, employees and peers. Yes, The College Times will be missed, but look at how many students have benefited by being members of The College Times staff.

The new UVU Review will be the name of the student newspaper, and it will  grow with the university, giving many more students the opportunity to be part of media product that serves the UVU community. See you, College Times, and welcome UVU Review.

Grant Flygare, Director 1989-2006:

For the most part, you go unnoticed. You won’t get a positive phone call with someone saying they liked an article you did — you won’t get a lot of that. What we really get are highly dedicated students, dedicated to what they do.