April 7, 2008

To those who have made it this far, congratulations. It’s the last week of classes which means it’s now just a matter of time before (drumroll) summer break!

Of course, for most of us, summer break is no longer quite the glamorous vacation it was during the elementary and highschool era. Ah, I remember those days well, frolicking in the backyard sprinkler, eating ice cream in the morning, renting the latest hit NES game from the neighborhood Blockbuster... and maybe even partaking in the occasional family trip to the Oregon coast for good measure. But now, living alone as a starving student, you're lucky if your

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Welcome to Summer LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

filthy one-bedroom apartment even has a porch, let alone a backyard, and you probably couldn’t afford to eat ice cream for breakfast even if you wanted to, let alone buy expensive video games or go on fancy trips. To a lot of us, summer break has simply become an interregnum of menial labor and mindless retail work, the time of year when you attempt to at least partially alleviate all the various debts you’ve racked up during the previous school year—or plan to create in the coming fall.

Then, of course, you’ ve got those poor bastards who take... ugh... the dreaded “summer semester.” Now there’s two words that should never appear even remotely close to each other. It’s a hideously paradoxical oxymoron on par with “sugar-free chocolate” or “Progressive Conservative.” You get to sit all cooped up in a stuffy manila-colored Douglas room, squirming glumly in your stiff plastic chair as some B-level adjunct rambles on about who-knows-what, your wandering eyes falling upon gleeful children running gaily past the crusty window...

But regardless, even if you're trapped in either of the depressing twin prisons of school or work (or God help you, both) there’s still a lot to be thankful for with summer coming. The weather, for instance. In theory, one presumes it will start getting sunny soon. Granted, with the recent onslaught of rain and hail there’s no real evidence to back this theory up, but it’s nice to believe. And... uh, summer movies! Those are always great, right? According to the trailers on Apple.com we can look forward to such soon-to- be-classics as, uh, Speed Racer and The Love Guru with Mike Myers. Those could be good, right? Right? And, oh! The ice cream man! Nothing says “summer” quite like a badly misshapen $5 Sponge Bob creamsicle!

Anyway, long story short, this will be the last issue of the good old Other Press for a while.

Since it’s now officially summer, at least in Douglas College world, we’ll only be publishing once a month from now on. So this issue will have to satisfy you for the rest of April, then nothing until Monday, May 5. Not coincidentally, May 5 is also the first day of Summer classes. Just doing our part to try and make things a tad more tolerable. And remember, if you’re ever in the mood for a refreshing frolic, you can always use the OP office sprinkler to freshen up. Granted, it’s really more of a water fountain than a sprinkler per se, but these days you've gotta take your small summer pleasures where you can.

Some other matters quickly, if 1 may. Sunday, April 13 is the day of The Other Press’ big fancy Annual General Meeting. It’s the one time a year when we plot and scheme about all the great things we'll be doing with this fine newspaper in the coming school year. As fee-paying shareholders of this organization, you’re certainly welcome to show up if you want. Starts at 11 am, meet at the New West OP office (bottom floor, room 1020) if you want to see the action.

Secondly, once the AGM is over, a lot of OP staff will be shuffling around, or leaving the paper entirely. Bad news for us, but good news for you, for this means there will be lots of new jobs open come fall. All our jobs pay well and are lots of fun, so keep your eyes open for OP want ads, either in this paper, in your email, or around campus, letting you know what’s up.

J.J. McCullough Editor in Chief of the Other Press

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