For Making of the Better Herald
The Herald is now a full ten years old. It sounds incredible to my ears, but it is a cold fact. The events leading to the birth of the Chung-Ang Herald are still vivid in my mind as a happy event of yesterday. If I am asked, “What is the most unforgettable day in your life?” I would readily say, “It was the day when the first issue of the Chung-Ang Herald came off the press.” Almost three months of hard work proceeded the publication in recruiting the reporters, organizing the staff, getting the budget approved, having the student reporters write the articles, then correcting and rewriting the articles done by the student reporters: then all the staff going out to the printing shop, proof-reading and composing the paper itself. So, you can well imagine how delighted we all were to see the initial issue of The Chung-Ang Herald on that historical day, May 20, 1957, in the printing shop.
We all celebrated the birth of the Herald over a cup of coffee, congratulating each other with smiles all over our faces.
Ten years have gone by since then. It is true that the Herald has grown with the passing of years both in quality and its circulation. But in my point of view, it is not enough. To serve its purposes better, there are many things to be done; a possibility of publishing it twice a month, a constant effort to improve its quality both in reporting and in English. An increment of its circulation both within and abroad to include more colleges, universities, and educational institutions of not only the free world nations but those neutral nations who uphold freedom and human rights. The Chung-Ang Herald needs to be more attractive and readable to the Korean student readers. These are some of the areas where we need much more improvement.
Over the years, I am delighted to notice a desire for the mastery of the English language among the students is becoming higher and higher. I took pride in my contributions to the eager college students by taking an important part in publishing the Herald.
Perhaps, it is a most satisfactory reward for my sweat and toil to see all graduates, who had gone through the four years of rigorous training, find good jobs and are moving ahead very rapidly in their careers.
In one phrase, my ten years with the Herald has been one of the most rewarding experiences; working for the dynamic and understanding President, Dr. Louise Yim, and working with intelligent and purposeful student reporters in a fine team, who worked with a sense mission toward the fulfillment of the overall institutional objectives.
To all of my colleagues in the Herald, I extend my highest compliment of the work well done. To all our foreign advisers who gave their precious time to the making of the Herald better. I extend my wholehearted thanks. They are Mr. Frederick Dustin, Mr. & Mrs. McLearen. Dr. Richard Garver, Dr. Armistead S. Pride, and Mr. Robert Yangas, Director of the Educational Counseling Center at the American-Korean Foundation, who has been giving us his free service in correcting the manuscripts.
May I ask for your continued support and patronage of the Herald in the years to come? We welcome your constructive criticisms and encouragements anytime anywhere.
B. D. Young
Role and Functions of Campus English Newspapers
The role and function aspect of the campus English newspaper should be the same as those of any specialized newspapers. In its actual practice, however, the campus English newspaper confronts many obstacles, because of its frequent publication- usually monthly in Korea-, and limited space with limited staff. News quickly becomes outdated in terms of newsworthiness as they happened in the previous month. In this respect, it may be better to call it a bulletin rather than a monthly newspaper.
Despite all these adversaries, the campus English newspaper does have a definite role to play. It is a part of the university’s mass media. As such, it has many responsibilities; presenting news about the university, fostering the pursuit of higher learning by reporting academic and scholarly events, lead and inform general attitudes of the university people, act as a herald between the institution it serves and other institutions with which its institution has friendly, working or cooperative relationships both domestic and international, and finally furnish the check upon the university administration which otherwise would be missing.
Besides these fundamental functions, the Chung-Ang Herald, when it first started 19 years ago, envisaged two additional specific purposes. First was to stimulate interest among students for their study of the English language, by reporting various academic and extra-curricular campus activities, by contributing articles, and by discussing the contents of the leading articles with their peers. Second was to serve as a training ground for those who are interested in Journalism and aspire to make Journalism their career after graduation.
Based on my experiences in the Chung-Ang Herald over the past 19 years, I would like to suggest here certain cautions that must be taken by the faculty adviser of the campus English newspaper and by the student reporters as well. We must always remember that it is a campus newspaper we are dealing with and not a daily. As such, it should confine its coverage, as much as possible, within academic and extracurricular activities of utmost interest to both students and faculty. Precautions must be exercised such as refraining zealot student reporters from imitating critical reporting for the pure sake of criticism against the establishment. Proper guidance should be upheld in order to keep up consistency in policy which is amenable to a shift in the masthead.
There is always difficulty in retaining competent student reporters. By the time the student reporters are trained well enough to upkeep a reasonable competency, it is time for them to graduate. Careful planning must be exercised to train enough student reporters to keep up the good quality of the campus newspaper. In this respect, the apprentice reporters, preferably double the number of the regular staff, should be selected through open, competitive examinations.
The last and crucial problem is the publication of issues on time. As there is plenty of time, there is a tendency on the part of the students to put off writing the articles until the last moment. Articles should be prepared as they occur, not by translating the articles from the vernacular campus newspaper. Printing it off the press on time is an important part of any publication. I hope this advice will be heeded by newcomers to the campus English newspapers.
| Stopping by Garden on an Autumn Afternoon By Hongkyu A. Choe Poet, Professor of English Literature Stopping by Louise Garden on an autumn afternoon, I stand and stare at the falling leaves, blue heaven and bustling young ones; The garden is beautiful in its autumn spirit, Under the November twilight the fallen leaves scatter, Descending like snow flakes, or fluttering as banners in the wind; The glory of summer fades away along with the change of season, The blurring of days and months transiently passes so swiftly, Suddenly the year begins to close its eyes, To where are we heading, where time and tide waits for no man? I embark upon a seemingly innocent task of writing poems, For in poetry the sublime, exalted thoughts roam free; Seasons hold supreme literary merit for the full spectrum sentiments, My poems have never held themselves aloof from life and nature, Since the nine muses presided over the arts, poetry has flourished; Poets not only scrutinize humanity upon its diversity, But also deeply assume the life of an individual as a part of nature, So long as poetry retains sole custody of the study of man's truth, The extent of its existence is the measure of what is achieved. The garden is a retreat from the complexities of campus life, I am by no means systematic in my approach to this garden, My poetic theme itself is a wide one of breath and life, Through the rosy glow of my own remembered experiences The value of individual memory has seeded intrinsic meaning, I wish my writing could be a model of the creative agony, I unfold my bosom and unlock widely my mind like the enveloped sky, Open-mindedness, whole-heartedness and directness always awakes me, The fall foliage draws from Mother Nature's palette to enhance being. There was once a time when the jealous winds of blossoms soared, At that time a soft breath of spring fragrance filled this garden, Whatever significance we attach to such beauty is born in the soul, The garden has witnessed the long history of our University, Chung-Angins have cherished their creed "Die in honor, live in truth", Bring forth new perspectives for the coming century, Chung-Ang's Neo-Renaissance; Who said "Man is a thinking reed: Autumn is a thinking season"? Shall we together descant over the familiar thesis cogito erogo sum? (Louis Garden was named after the late Dr. Louis Yim, The founder of |