THE EDITORS-IN-CHIEF OF THE OTHER PRESS
CF pPUGLAS COLLEGE'S NEWSPAPEF

OPINIONS EDITOR

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write Douglas College-centered stuff,”
says Britten, “or even Lower Mainland-
focused stuff can be a challenge. Let’s
be honest, nobody reads the Other
Press to find out what happened
somewhere else in the world last
week, right? But that’s what people’s
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to them. You have to look for not the
most obvious story, I guess. Look for
opportunity to localize things.”

“If you are a sports editor, go watch
the damn Royals play,” Britten adds.
“Or if you are the arts editor, you might
have to go see a Douglas College play.”

The Other Press began in 1976
and it has always struggled to find
its place within the Douglas College
ecosystem. Splintered from the rest
of the institution, the Other Press
requires the editor-in-chief to bridge
the gap between the different societies
and communities, while staying true to
the publication’s journalistic values.

“Tt’s so rare that anything
noteworthy happens,” says Miki, “that
if it ever does happen you have to talk
about it. We're not a PR magazine for
Douglas College. But if we were, then
yes, we wouldn't sayanything critical.
But if something happened—and it’s
true—we have to report on it.”

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The Other Press is an organization with
many moving parts. It’s often hard to
keep track of the squeaky wheels.-In
an effort to produce a newspaper on
a weekly basis, there are going to be
mistakes. The lesson is in how one
recovers. Consider all the crore
take place in a classroom: spelling
mistakes, incorrect facts, plagiarisms,
etc. All these problems are magnified
when it is printed a thousand times
and handed out to the general public.
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issue printed. If there is a problem,
there is no hiding and there is no
blaming; he or she must face the hard
light.

“My worst fear was that I was
going to do something that would end
the newspaper,” says Gibb. “I’m sure
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the opportunity to end it, in that our
contract with the college student levy

was up for renewal in my term. It
happened to come upon a very
funny time.”
It was a funny time indeed.
A humour article mistaken as
legitimate news got the Other
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of 2013. Gibb was the editor-in-
chief at the time and he received
the brunt of the backlash as the
article involved the New Westminster
Police Department.

“If the paper hadn’t been on such
strong foundation,” Gibb adds, “who
knows what would have happened?”

At the time, it was no laughing
matter for the publication. But Gibb
laughs it off now, reminding us that
the words printed on the paper have
impact. Being the leader of a media
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5
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the Other Press, carries a certain
responsibility. It’s not just for the
people who speak out, but for the
people who don’t as well.

“You focus in on the fact that you
get surprised when people say ‘I’m
surprised that there is a newspaper at
the college,” says Klyne. “Like you are
kind of taken aback by that statement.
It’s just, you do pour so much of
yourself into it, but there are a lot of
people who do read and don’t make
their voices known or participate, and
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happy to do that. And it’s our job to
just be there and supply that.”

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of the Other Press chases the clock,
rallying the collective to produce
a high-quality publication for the
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first few steps in September orthe last 9 ===
leg in August;they know their efforts
will be visible in print and digital not
just for Douglas College to see, but for
the whole world. They also know that
their time is fleeting. This learning
experience they treated wholeheartedly
asa “real job” will soon be over.

“T feel like there was so much |
wanted to do that I never got around
to doing,” says Serafini. “There would
always be a fire—not a literal fire—to
put out. I feel like by the end of my first
semester_-was-so exhausted, I was just
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position—put out the next fire.”

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You receive the baton—but it’s not
really a baton, it’s a fire extinguisher.
You are the next editor-in-chief of the
Other Press. You want to make your
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to make mistakes. If that’s the case,
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legacy, improve the organization
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and allow room for the leaders of the
future to solve the problems that are
as ingrained into the institution as
student apathy.

“You don't need to be a born leader
for anything,” says Wilkins. “You grow
your way into it. You learn things. You
figure out how stuff works.”

For over 40 years, the Other Press
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campus community. While it might
be considered fringe, because there
are no academic programs linked to it,
it a necessary part of the institution.
The craft of writing, editing, and
communicating is a key to professional
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Why does a school have gym?
Not because we want our students to
become body builders or professional
athletes, it’s because we want them to
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goes with a student newspaper. It’s not
about the product; it’s about the work
itself, and it’s about getting better and
stronger at the craft. For the editor-
in-chief, it’s his or her chance to learn
what no course in Douglas can teach,
and that is a unique opportunity.