By Robert Lucke
Call it the NoMoCo and you are way out of touch. These days the student newspaper at MSU-Northern is called the Northern Light, and freshman Samantha Clawson is the soon to be managing editor.
Not only is Clawson, a Havre native, taking on the responsibility, but all the while she is taking 18 credit hours at Northern this semester.
Clawson explained what the managing editor of the Northern Light does.
"I do basically everything the editor in chief tells me to do," said Clawson, smiling. "I am still going to write articles and stuff, but I get paid for it now."
She has a good idea of how she was chosen to be the new managing editor.
"I got the job because I am always there," related Clawson. "I guess they chose the person that seemed dedicated. It is a lot of work, but it is a lot of fun too."
NoMoCo or Northern Light. There are always lots of issues for the newspaper to write about.
"One big issue is the night life for students," recalled Clawson. "There are always things to do, but there could be more. Like right now, there are poetry readings at the Oxford Bar. Students, faculty and others come to them. They are great. There were more than 100 that attended the last one. And there are campus church groups and Monday is bowling night, but we are looking for more entertainment. Havre is small enough that it is really nice to live here, but it is too small for a lot of entertainment."
Northern Light staffers are also interested in the fact that tuition at the school is scheduled for a 17 percent rise in the next two years.
And there are lots of faculty changes at Northern as well.
One large issue is activities of Northern's Student Senate.
"The Student Senate is a large issue. They are in charge of all student issues and this is a legislative year so they will be meeting in Helena to talk about tuition and things like that," Clawson continued. "If students have a problem, they go to the Student Senate and almost all administrative committees at the University have Student Senate representatives."
And, like always at Northern, there are parking issued to address.
"There is not enough parking for students," added Clawson. "That and the road condition. Roads are falling apart."
The Northern Light puts out an issue every two weeks. Students and Clawson would like to see more Northern stories included in the paper.
"People like to read stories about MSU-Northern better than AP releases that we also include in our paper," said Clawson. "I would like to see a lot more interviews with people at the University and I'd like to see people get more involved. The problem is that students have been reluctant to be involved in the paper. The quality of the paper is improving, thanks to Kevin Mathweg, the editor in chief, and Danielle Hall, the copy editor."
Clawson is excited about the paper and her role as managing editor. Her excitement and enthusiasm is just what Northern and the Northern Light needs. It is a breath of fresh air for Havre's prairie university.
