University of Virginia Library

A Starting Shot

It is a tradition for the new managing
board of this paper in their first issue to
comment on the performance of the past
managing board and on plans for the future.
Rather than change things too drastically in
our very first issue and have 84 editors come
out of the past to haunt us, we have opted to
carry on this tradition.

In any case, it forces us to analyze what
we in this office and those on the outside
have gone through during the course of the
past year. But most importantly, by this we
are all prompted to gaze upon our own
individual futures, as well as the future of The
Cavalier Daily and of this University, in hopes
that we might discover a more responsible way, if at all
possible, of coping with the problems and
challenges which we incur daily as we
attempt to produce the best possible
newspaper for our discriminating readership:
the students and faculty of the University.

While we were reflecting upon things
which have happened, but also upon those
which we anticipate, the out-going managing
editor struggled into the office with two large
stacks of Cavalier Daily's which he was
planning to have bound for the composite
volume. He observed that these will be the
thickest bound volumes in the history of this
newspaper.

This at least partially sums up the work of
our immediate predecessors - hard work and
dedication, seven days a week, 12 hours a
day, all of which account for more pages and
more issues than ever before.

There are a few key phrases we'll always
remember Steve Wells by as editor-in-chief:
"dedication," "trust me," "just don't worry
about it," and "up yours," examples of his
enthusiasm, the confidence which he had in
himself and which the staff had in him; and of
course those periodical times of frustration
when a deadline is near at hand or a
ridiculous demand interferes with a busy
schedule. One of his colleagues frequently
commented that Steve was the most hated
man at the University but later amended that
when he went up to The Culpeper
Star-Exponent with a late paper one night to
realize that Steve was equally as hated in
Culpeper.

What this says, more than anything else,
and Steve realized it more than anyone else, is
that you don't make friends in the newspaper
business. A real journalist can not continually
worry about whose feelings he is going to hurt
or the friends he is going to offend. At all
times, and this is indeed unfortunate for a
student, he must be as detached as possible
from all special interest groups, political
parties, petty organizations and societies. This
is the only way in which he can remain
objective and "above board" in his attempts
to report the news accurately and fairly. With
this philosophy scrupulously in mind Steve
ran this paper and conducted himself in all
situations.

Steve was the master-mind as well as the
work-horse behind the expanded and more
frequent issues. Often at 4 a.m. Steve could
be found in these offices responding to letters
from irate or inquiring readers, distressed
administrators and disturbed advertisers. But
he also found time to contribute copy - an
occasional editorial and numerous full pagers.
He was indeed the most versatile journalist
among the group, aware of and having the
ability to do anything which might arise in a
daily operation such as this.

Wally Bardenwerper without a doubt
spent more hours at a typewriter than
anyone else on the staff. This, of course,
means that he was the "writer" to whom one
went when unable to think of the appropriate
metaphor or an interesting lead.

He was the idealist who kept hacking away
in editorials at things that disturbed him. But
he was also the supreme realist when the
situation called for one, always realizing the
limits of any request or demand as when an
administrator might reach his "boiling
point."

With these two invaluable assets he was
The Cavalier Daily's P.R. man, elevating our
credibility to an all-time high. Someone once
criticized Wally for his extremely inconsistent
editorial stands, much to his delight. Why?
Because this meant that he had judged each
issue on its individual merits, not from one
preconceived point of view.

Neill Alford as managing editor and Kip
Klein as business manager were, of course as
every year, the "unsung heroes." Where Steve
may have made enemies outside these offices,
Neill made them inside, using up more red
pencils than any previous managing editor.
Few dangling participles or passive verbs went
unnoticed. Perhaps they passed unmarked, but
never without some show of disgust on the
part of this meticulous managing editor.

Kip Klein is probably the only person ever
at this University to have served on the
Judiciary Committee, Student Council and
the Managing Board of The Cavalier Daily and
to have performed well at all. Under Kip, The
Cavalier Daily reduced its reliance on student
funds more than ever before to a point now
where independence looks not only feasible
but also likely in the not too distant future.

To all those departing staff members we
extend our congratulations and our thanks for
leaving us with the best newspaper ever.

***

The Cavalier Daily never has and probably
never will get away from criticism. But what
we emphasize in response, not to those
unfortunate grammatical errors or spelling
mistakes, but to that criticism of our
judgment and objectivity is this: We are
newspaper people first and foremost,
committed to reporting the news as
objectively as is humanly possible.

What we strive for, above all, is to be as fair
and accurate as any new staff member will
admit. The first principle of reporting, they
are told, is, "You can not afford to make a
mistake." One of our predecessors has
remarked, "They're gonna crucify you
anyway, so make damn sure they're not
justified."

When we err and we are made aware of it,
we will be the first to admit it. But so very
often, someone will say "you misquoted
me," when in fact that is the simplest way of
denying a perfectly accurate statement but
which has now gone into print before 12,000
readers. Or, even more frequently we hear the
assertion "you made me look illiterate,"
when in fact the person made himself look
illiterate. He said it, not us.

With regard to editorial policy, we need
say only this, and we say it in all sincerity:
There is not an organization at this school
which we on the managing board responsible
for these editorials are predisposed to like or
dislike. While we have not agreed with every
editorial position in this past, or for that
matter, any other year, we do plan to follow
what we believe to be the wisest policy of
editorial writing - that is, to judge each issue
on its own merits, without following any
particular ideology or espousing any special
cant.

Our responsibility to the University
community is to inform them of not only
what is going on but also why something is
going on. We are as much on the inside
probing as to why things happen as we are on
the outside reporting how things happen. Our
readers have as much right to know what goes
on after they cast their vote as they do to
know when and where to cast that vote.

The Cavalier Daily is now as never before
an open newspaper, accessible to anyone. But
we are not an extracurricular activity where
people who aspire to be "big men on
campus" will ever or should ever succeed. It is
only in this way that we as any newspaper
might maintain our credibility, which we hold
most important of all. And it is only in this way
that The Cavalier Daily might help to effect
change pointing out not only the realities but
also the possibilities for the coming
year.