I bet you are wondering why I gathered you all here today. Well, I shall tell you. I gathered you all here to talk about the Associated Collegiate Press conference. As YOUR collegiate paper, the staff members of the Observer get the chance to go to two conferences a year so that we can learn more about the industry and improve our paper. During the conferences we are also able to submit one of our papers, and any student work, for awards. We have won Best in Show several times and our Photo Editor Jack Lambert got an honorable mention for his photo illustration that he did for the DACA story we ran last year.

Our first conference of the year was in Dallas, Texas during the last weekend of October. While we were there, we got to meet with professionals in the industry, attend sessions on how to be better leaders and editors, and get our paper critiqued. We were also able to explore a city that most of us had not been to before; some of us went to the aquarium and the photo staff entered a “shoot out” to see who could take the best picture of the city.

This time the conference is taking place in Long Beach, California. The hope is that we are able to send a lot of people but there is a problem. For some reason or another, the Observer was not given a travel budget and this puts a strain on us financially. Even though we are a real paper with real advertisers that pay us, we don’t make enough to cover the trip without some help. To help pay for the last conference, we went to the S&A board to ask for money and we managed to get what we needed. However, their supply of money is running out so we are trying to raise some money ourselves.

This is where you guys come in. The Observer staff is hosting a Cornerstone Pie takeover fundraiser. For anyone who doesn’t know what this means, basically from 4 to 8 p.m., the staff of the Observer and Pulse magazine will be at Cornerstone Pie hanging out with our fans and passing out papers and magazines. During that time, a percentage of what the restaurant makes will go to the student media and will help us fund our trip.

If you want to support your student media, or you just like pizza, please come join us at Cornerstone Pie from 4 to 8 p.m. on Feb. 7. We will be there and hanging out (I will be eating pizza because who can resist) and would love for you guys to join us.

In short, these conferences mean a lot to us and we hope that this paper (and the magazine) mean a lot to you guys. We also appreciate all of you, our faithful readers, who pick up a paper every week and read the stories that our reporters have put their hearts into writing. Without you guys there would be no reason for us to put out a paper and we want to thank you for this by putting out even better papers. Help us do that by coming out to Cornerstone Pie and purchasing a pie or a grinder or anything else your little heart desires.

For now, here is what we got going on in these here pages. In our Scene section we have a story about the Ellensburg Swing Out (if you like dancing or big bands you should check that out) and don’t forget about the double-truck detailing the first Friday Art Walk downtown. In our Sports section we have a story about the opening of the baseball and softball season. And finally, in our News section we have a story on the consolidation of some of the deans on campus.

Thanks for reading!