‘The Reflector’ impacts campus
The Reflector will celebrate its 90th consecutive year of publication on Nov. 15, 2012. Over its 90-year history, the student-run publication has been a major source of campus news, entertainment, opinion and solace in the face of tragedy. According to several readers, The Reflector has had a major impact on the University of Indianapolis.
Robert Gobetz, associate professor of communication, said that in addition to informing the campus, The Reflector also provides a sense of community.
“I think, generally, the campus has been better informed about what is going on, on campus,” Gobetz said. “But, it is not just me that reads The Reflector to find out what is going on on campus. It is a shared source of information that helps create a deeper sense of community.”
Chair and Associate Professor of Theatre Jim Ream said that The Reflector serves many purposes: to inform, to promote involvement and to archive university history.
“[The Reflector] has been and remains two things. It is kind of a school spirit sort of information. It has news, but also a promotional feature that promotes getting involved on campus,” Ream said. “The other thing that people don’t think of is that it’s an incredible archive source. It, more than any other source, provides us with information about what happened [recently] and what happened years ago.”
Senior English literature major Sarah Rae said that the fact that UIndy has a student newspaper is important. She also said that The Reflector is important as an official source of information, so students do not have to rely on gossip and word of mouth as their main source of campus information.
Ream recalled a specific time that The Reflector was instrumental in keeping UIndy informed.
“I can remember some tough times on campus where The Reflector was a comforting, calming experience,” Ream said. “We had a student in our department several years ago who lost her life, and The Reflector was a good source of information and news for the student body at that point.”
Gobetz said that he enjoys tracking the progress of students from inexperienced freshmen to seasoned upperclassmen.
“It is always gratifying to see a student enter as a freshman and take a pass at writing an article, that may not be all that strong, and after a few years their writing is demonstrably improved,” Gobetz said.
Ream said he said has noticed an increase in the professionalism of student reporting and said that student reporters have valuable information to share with the campus.
“Especially in recent years, The Reflector has been a major source of university news, and it has been more reliable than the faculty rumor mill. In the past five years they have done a more professional job of gathering news,” Ream said. “It has been my experience that the students have more access, as journalists, to information that I do not even have as a senior faculty member. I remember reading [articles] and going, ‘Wow, I did not know that.'”
Rae said she reads The Reflector to stay informed about UIndy news and events that, she might otherwise miss out on.
“I read The Reflector because it informs me about what is going on on campus. I am a commuter student so I do not really have a lot of time to be on campus and go to all of the events,” Rae said. “So I like to read up on all the current stuff that interests me.”
