`Campanile' to be distributed after spring break

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by Lindsey Schechter

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Charles Klein, the editor of the 1995 Campanile , said the book is in the final stages of completion and should return from the printer in six to eight weeks. He plans for distribution to occur immediately after spring break.

The Campanile has been traditionally issued at the beginning of the fall semester. Klein takes full responsibility for the delay, despite the fact that he was working with a small staff which had to deal with some unavoidable problems.

"I am a perfectionist," Klein said. "I've held myself to a standard [that] with the size of staff I have, I should not have held myself to."

There were very few people willing to work on the Campanile last year, and the few who were willing had no experience. In the end, four people were responsible for compiling the entire book.

According to Klein, although the staff was "very dedicated" and "did their jobs very well," they had trouble handling all of the work. Not only did they have to assemble the book, but they also had to deal with administrative problems like finding an editor for 1996 and revising the budget to pull the Campanile out of debt.

They were set back further when the Athletics file and its backups were destroyed on the computer. Klein said redoing the Athletics section alone delayed the book a month. Although Klein said the book never could have been completed on time with the number of problems encountered, he admits that "there are ways it could have been at least earlier."

Andy Burmeister, the editor of the 1996 Campanile , said he is "excited about the '95 book." After dealing with some of the same problems as Klein, Burmeister said he understands that the delays are the "fault of a system that's out of control."

"There is an expectation on campus that students get a book, but there's an unwillingness to assist in the making of that book," Burm-eister said.

Unlike the Thresher staff, the Campanile staff does not get paid for their work. It is difficult to find people willing to take what Burm-eister said can be "a very, very frustrating position."

The Campanile hired Burmeister, a Rice alumnus, for one year when no qualified students offered to do the job. Burmeister hopes that by revamping the Campanile format, he might spark more student interest.

"A lot of our problems could be solved with money," Burmeister said.

Student reaction to the Campanile delay is mixed. Garrett Wotkyns, a Brown College senior, said, "I just think it's ridiculous that they can't get it out in a prompt and punctual manner. It's not all that theoretically complex."

On the other hand, David Mebane, a senior at Brown, sympathized with the Campanile staff.

"It's a thankless job," Mebane said, "Nobody should complain about it because no one wanted to do it."

This item appeared in the News section of the February 2, 1996 issue.

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