The first time I stepped foot on the 40 Acres after I’d received my admittance from the University was nearly three years ago, on a yearbook field trip with my high school. It was the first time I laid my hands on a Daily Texan. I began to call Austin home about three months later in August 2010, and every single day I’ve spent on campus since then has been spent with a Texan tucked under my right arm. I read on the bus, in between classes, in classes … cover to cover. I even grab extra copies to take home to my grandfather, who consumes the paper even more voraciously than I do. He doesn’t read the online version — he’s nearly 73 years old, for goodness sake. He awaits my trips home, arms full of unread Daily Texans for him to examine.
The Texan is the only paper I read religiously, in print, on a day-to-day basis. I read a number of newspapers online — the Statesman, the Times, the Post — on a daily basis, but I’ve ventured to the Texan’s website maybe a total of 50 times. Why? Because this campus is truly fortunate to have a freely-distributed daily newspaper that covers a range of news events beginning right here on campus and reaching out to every corner of the world.
Maybe I’m one of the few. Maybe others wouldn’t care if the Texan cut back a day or two of publication and shifted to an increasingly online format. Maybe some wouldn’t care if the Texan shifted to an entirely online format. But as the Texas Student Media board prepares to hash out the matter at their Friday meeting, let it be known that people like me exist, people who would be lost without their DAILY Texan. Please, don’t break our hearts. Keep our paper around. Keep it daily. The Texan is not just a newspaper — it’s a living, breathing manifestation of life on the University of Texas campus. It’s the arm that reaches out beyond campus to let others know that, of course, what starts here really does change the world. By slowly stifling the Texan’s voice, administrators are wrapping a tourniquet around that arm. And what happens if you cut off circulation for too long? The limb falls off.
Katey Psencik, journalism senior
