COS student-run newspaper shuts down as program struggles

College of the Sequoias had 10 journalism courses listed on its academic catalog at the start of the school year, offering students a variety of options ranging from beginner to advanced reporting classes.

The community college will only offer two journalism courses this upcoming semester following a decrease in class enrollment numbers last fall. COS has also struggled to fill longtime journalism professor Judy House Menezes' vacancy following her retirement in 2021.

As a result, the school's student-run newspaper, The Campus, is on a temporary hiatus, effective immediately.

"I do not have any concrete details on why," The Campus Editor-in-Chief Spencer Beair said in an email Tuesday, "but the campus newspaper will be temporarily put on hold due to changes in the program."

A now-deleted post from The Campus Twitter account published Monday confirmed the paper's status, calling it permanent.

The tweet said, "As of today, December 12th, 2022, The Campus Journal and its socials are on a permanent hiatus. As a staff, we thank all of those who read our stories and watched our video content this past semester, and we hope journalism will be brought back to COS sometime in the near future."

The Campus posted on Twitter Tuesday to clarify the student paper would be on a "temporary hiatus," not a permanent one, though that will depend on staffing and interest in the four-unit program.

Beair, Managing Editor Jackie Schuster and Michael Hernandez, a copy editor, also wrote separate letters to the editor that were published on The Campus' website on Sunday.

“College newspapers are important, empowering student voices and highlighting news that might otherwise go uncovered,” Schuster wrote. “I hope the paper is revived soon, and am excited to see what this paper will do once it receives a stable foundation to rebuild off of.”

Schuster said on Monday the news “was a bit of a surprise” to her and her fellow reporters.

The Campus reporting was led this semester by Amado Medrano, Stephanie Brewster, Demetrios Turk, Dylan West, Hannah Escalera, Schuster, Hernandez and Beair.

Shailin Kennedy, a communications professor at College of the Sequoias, was the adviser to the student paper.

The Visalia Times-Delta reached out to Kennedy for comment on Tuesday but did not receive a response in time for deadline.

Former COS reporters have already voiced their concerns over the paper's hiatus, including USA Today Network’s Central California editor, Eric Woomer.

"I spent long nights in that newsroom to ensure the paper got out, driving to Selma and piling stacks of papers in my car to hand out each week,” Woomer said. “I hope they can revive this program. A school newspaper is a rite of passage for future journalists who deserve a strong foundation to build their careers on.”

Others have shared memories online and voiced support for the staff.

College of the Sequoias spokesperson Lauren Fishback confirmed The Campus' status Tuesday afternoon.

"We have struggled with enrollment and justifying faculty load for classes with fewer than five students; however, we are looking at different models for running The Campus newspaper," she said. "COS plans to continue the journalism program and is evaluating program changes."

Déjà vu at COS and The Campus

This isn’t the first time The Campus has been in the spotlight.

In May 2003, journalism students learned that the board of trustees voted to eliminate the equivalent of 85 full-time teachers, including the student newspaper as well as the college's only two journalism instructors, House Menezes included.

"I was shocked," Jackie Womack, managing editor of The Campus said in 2003. "Students are the ones being affected the most."

Womack later went on to be a copy editor for the Visalia Times-Delta.

Eventually, 22 jobs were saved due to a number of teachers retiring and after trustees voted to rescind layoff notices. However, five teachers still lost their jobs and three journalism classes were cut as a result. The paper's budget was also cut.

Menezes, who was the newspaper's adviser in 2003, was vocal during the tumultuous time, questioning the cuts. "The student voice has been silenced," she said.

The Campus was founded in 1933 and is a member of the Journalism Association of Community Colleges, the California Newspaper Publishers Association, the College Media Association and the Associated Collegiate Press.

It is unknown when The Campus will return.

"COS recognizes the importance of the study of journalism to our local community and the broader population," Fishback said. "We look forward to an updated and expanded program in the near future."

This article originally appeared on Visalia Times-Delta: COS student-run newspaper shuts down as journalism program struggles