This has been an interesting year for the PSU student publications. There have been some fundamental changes in the way our media outlets are operated.

I’m not talking about the Vanguard, (nobody reads those guys, anyway). I mean the Spectator and the Rearguard. Okay, maybe the differences in the Rearguard are not entirely obvious—this publication still looks basically the same as it did in the last academic year—but there have been some important changes. While the theme of change in 2008-2009 has gone from a great slogan to a great irritation, things did change in the sub-basement, and those changes are worth reporting on.

You might be asking what in the hell a few changes in the way ideologically-driven student publications are run has to do with responding to something the Spectator ran that was questionable or outright wrong. The truth is, it has nothing to do with that, while at the same time having everything to do with it. There is a point to all of this, so please bear with me.

In the Rearguard office, a bunch of new personnel were brought in. Most of the new hires actually made it this year, which is pretty awesome. Nicholas Kula and Isaac Mayo injected some unforced humor into the paper, which was sorely needed. We now have a website that functions, thanks to Brett Campbell. Ines Kuna joined us towards the end of the year and brought a lighter side to the Rearguard with her in-depth scientific studies on all things, ranging from energy drinks to gym equipment, and generating much-needed laughs on the nights we put this thing together. And while our leadership is changing, things look pretty good for the Rearguard going forward, as long as we don’t descend into stupidity next year. Only time will tell on that score, but I’m confident that we won’t go bat-shit crazy without Rebekah to keep us kids in line.

If you were holding the latest issue of the Spectator in one hand and the last one from last school year in the other, you’d have a hard time telling that they were the same publication. In every way, the Spectator is a better paper—their articles are more professional, less inflammatory and more informative. Combine this with the more streamlined layout of the paper and campus conservatives have every reason to be happy. If you’re anything like me and are concerned with all students having a voice, then you should be happy, too, even if you’re a Marxist and think anyone to the right of Nancy Pelosi is a Nazi-fascist. Regardless of how the crazies on campus might feel, things are looking good at the Spectator.

The editor of the Spectator, Sarah Christensen, is now the new editor of the Vanguard, which should help to breathe some life into that publication. I can’t put my finger on what’s wrong with the Vanguard, but something is missing. I’m certain that those things will be fixed soon, however. The new editor at the Spectator is Joe Wirtheim, who has the challenge of keeping the good things coming. It’s the same challenge Isaac Mayo faces here at the Rearguard—not fucking things up and continuing to improve things the way Rebekah Hunt did in her tenure. We’re all up to the task of doing all this, of course, but the challenges are there.

My only problem with the quality of the product at the Spectator is that at times I feel it lacks a strong conservative voice. It could all be in my head, though, since I do vividly remember some of the things published by them in years past, which were quite inflammatory. It could also be that I am having trouble channeling that arrogant part of me that feels I can challenge other people’s opinions on things, since the people at the Spectator haven’t gotten anything so blatantly wrong or made claims of questionable basis to a degree where they needed challenging.

The challenge that all of the student publications have next year is to represent the students of the campus. The Vanguard represents everybody, the Spectator speaks for the conservatives who are too afraid to speak for themselves, and the Rearguard speaks for... well, anybody who is of a progressive bent who finds other progressives annoying. If we all keep things topical, then we can feel good about continuing to do the jobs that we were all hired for, which is to contribute to the learning dialogue that makes Portland State a better place.