To the Editor:
I was troubled to read in your April 18 issue that the Undergraduate Finance Board plans to cut funding for many of Brown’s student publications. Although UFB apparently did not explain its decision, I suspect it is rooted in the mistaken belief that print is no longer relevant.
Running a print publication presents unique challenges, and it helps students develop skills that last long after graduation, even for those who do not pursue careers as journalists, designers or editors. In my work as a civil rights attorney, I routinely draw on my experiences editing the College Hill Independent and VISIONS Magazine. Every time I rush to meet a briefing deadline for court, I face a situation that would be familiar to today’s student editors: writing, editing and compiling a complex document involving multiple contributors to meet a hard deadline, without the opportunity to redo mistakes. For all its virtues, digital publishing can never replicate that experience.
I hope UFB will reconsider its decision.
Chris Hu ’06