Did you know that the University of Rochester has its own student-run newspaper? It’s called Campus Times and publishes weekly online articles, along with a monthly print edition that you can take for free across campus. It’s been a staple of the University community since 1873 and reading Campus Times is a great way to learn more about important University news and events as a prospective student.
If you enjoy writing, editing, illustrating, design, or photography you should consider joining CT if you come to the University as it is easy to get involved in any of these areas and is a great community to be a part of. I wrote my first article for CT in the fall of my sophomore year and decided to run for one of the open social media editor positions in December. I didn’t get the role but was instead offered a spot on the presentations team, which does the layout for the monthly print editions in Adobe InDesign, thanks to my Adobe Illustrator experience. Since then I’ve become Presentations Chief (the head of the presentations staff), along with staff writer and staff photographer. I’ve made a lot of friends through CT and it’s given me great writing experience that helped me land my job with Facilities Team Green.
Some of my favorite articles include an in-depth profile on The Commissary, a humorous culture piece on the New York State Fair, and an interview with a Studio Art major who started a mail art exchange and zine.
I interviewed a few other CT officers to get their thoughts on their experiences with the newspaper.
Alyssa Koh – Managing Editor
Koh told me, “I decided to join Campus Times on a whim, honestly – I had never written for a publication prior to starting college, but I thought it’d be a good way to spend my time, especially in the midst of COVID-19.” While other clubs were struggling with remotely engaging their members, CT was still able to continue production virtually on Sundays. I didn’t feel like I was missing out on too much and actually felt like I was improving as a comedic writer and copy editor from the start of my time with CT.” She added on, “I like the fact that CT is a place for everyone – if you’re interested in learning how to be a better writer in a bunch of different ways, if you’re an illustrator or photographer looking to have your work published and publicized, or if you just want to hang out in the office and eat pizza on a Sunday afternoon, you’ll be welcomed and supported.”
As Co-Managing Editor, Koh supports the Editor-in-Chief with large decisions and gives edits to about half of all the submitted articles for the week while the other Managing Editor handles the other half and provides more support to the Publisher. Together, the Publisher, Editor-in-Chief, and two Managing Editors make up the CT management team, making all of the important decisions such as when print dates are, the production schedule, and any events they want to hold.
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Micah Bettenhausen – Photo Editor
Bettenhausen added on to the community aspect of CT stating, “Anyone can enter with no experience needed and the people of the campus times will teach, guide, and support new or experienced contributors. The people are my favorite aspect of this community, of this organization.” Bettenhausen also appreciates the historical role of CT noting that it “[P]rovides the critical role of recording the history of the University without administrative bias attempting to save face, and does it without being obnoxious and in-your-face about it.”
As Co-Photo Editor, Bettenhausen corresponds with the different newspaper sections to learn which stories need accompanying photographs and then creates a spreadsheet to send to the Photo section email list. Him and the other Co-Photo Editor take any of the unclaimed photo assignments. He has also dabbled in writing with a piece on the new provost, David Figlio.
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Allie Tay – Opinions Editor
Tay shared that she joined CT because she never got the chance to write for her high school newspaper but was still really interested in learning the writing and the behind the scenes production process. “I just love the atmosphere, to be honest. It’s strangely satisfying to crank out articles and edits in a time crunch when you’re surrounded by a lot of people doing the same thing. Everyone has their own part on the assembly line” she told me, adding on, “As Opinions Editor, I genuinely feel that it’s an honor that I get to be the first person at CT to read someone’s piece and how they trust me with it (and to tear it into shreds with love).”
As a section editor, Tay creates a budget (list of article ideas) every week and sends them out to her Opinions mailing list for writers to claim. Then she edits the submitted articles for style, grammar, and structure and checks with the writers to what their thoughts are on the edits. Finally, she publishes the articles online on the CT website, currently hosted by WordPress.
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Want to learn more?
Feel free to reach out to any of the CT staff to ask about our experiences and how to get involved! You can find all of our contact information on our website.