StuComm Cuts Costs, Index Debuts on Scrolls

This quarter, tensions reached a high point between Student Commission and The Index staff over cuts to the paper’s funding. After much deliberation, Student Commission surveyed its members to solve the problem of The Index’s wasteful spending.

They came up with an ingenious solution: scrolls.

Beginning spring quarter, The Index will no longer be available to the college community as paper copies. Instead, The Index will be hand written by K’s own professional scribe, Kristina Belutz, onto scrolls made out of parchment paper. Two copies of each week’s issue will be written and put on closed reserve at the Library Circulation Desk.

The implementation of this new system will cut down the Index’s printing costs to $.89 a quarter and save more than 500,000 sheets of paper.
Carolyn Hoffermann K ’09, a Student Commission representative, said, “Nearly eliminating The Index is an important first step in reducing the wasteful spending among the college’s student groups. Of course not everyone is going to agree with this decision, but we as a community are going to have to learn to make sacrifices during this tough economic crisis.”

Student Beverly Killian K’11 said, “I’m kind of excited for this new form of communication. I think it will appeal to people who don’t want to be bothered with pictures and are serious about getting their news stories.”

Other alternatives to scrolls were considered, including hand-painting the issues on the walls of the underground tunnel connecting Hoben to Harmon, and creating T-Shirts for the editors of The Index to wear around campus. In the end, however, scrolls were decided upon as the least expensive and most logical option.

Sarah Gold K’10, a Student Commission representative who voted in favor of the switch to scrolls said, “The switch seems logical because print news is becoming obsolete with the various other technologies available today. If I can just look at my e-mail, television, or cell phone to get a two sentence summary of my news, why would I want to actually read something that’s longer?”

Student Commission issued a statement saying that switching from paper to scrolls will actually increase readership for The Index, because it gives it new publicity and students will be excited for the new design.

Student Kevin Marl K’11 said, “I have never once picked up a copy of The Index, but if it becomes available in scroll form I am definitely going to check it out. It will be like we’ve gone back to the time of Jesus, and to have that kind of feeling evoked as I’m reading my school newspaper will make it worthwhile.”

The editors of The Index have not yet responded to this decision, but are rumored to have sent an e-mail to the Student Commission President requesting a meeting.