University publications: GCU Gazette misses two issues

Students, ex-editors fear print version might be discontinued.

LAHORE:

Government College University’s (GCU) students fear that The Gazette, one of the college’s publications, might be in trouble after it missed two of its issues recently.

September 2011 is when the last issue of The Gazette was published, with any literary work.

They called missing the convocation issue and the annual sports day issue “unprecedented”.

Under the rules, at least nine issues have to be published in a year, which they were in 2011. In some years the number has been as many as 24.

A faculty member attributed the discontinuation to the new Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Khaleequr Rahman’s vision for The Gazette. The teacher, who did not want to be named, said Rahman wanted to cut back on expenditures by making the magazine an online publication.

GCU students and former editors of The Gazette, however, are not happy about the plan. Adnan Mohsin, a former editor told The Express Tribune that former editors had conveyed their disagreement and reservations to the Gazette manager. “We don’t have any objections to going online but a hard copy should also be published because not all students will be able to access it online, said Adnan.

He said that The Gazette had started publishing in 1900. In 1906, it was published as Ravi and started evolving as a magazine. In 1935, The Gazette and Ravi were published separately.

Another former editor of The Gazette, journalist Zaheer Mahmood Siddiqui described The Gazette as a mode of communication between students and administration. “All notices and reports on extra curricular activities are published in it. Ravi has more refined pieces but The Gazette is a ‘nursery’ for aspiring writers,” he said. Siddiqui said that the Old Ravians, GCU alumni, would be more than happy to donate money to save The Gazette, if funds were the problem.

Hassan Belal Zaidi, an ex-editor, said that The Gazette had helped produce several prominent journalists. Working at The Gazette teaches students how print media works, he said, adding, making it an online publication would kill that purpose.

GCU spokesperson Musadiq Sultan said he could not comment on matters regarding The Gazette.

The Gazette staff adviser Muhammad Siddique Awan told The Tribune that though there were plans for making it available online, the administration was not thinking about discontinuing the print version. He blamed “a few administrative problems” for The Gazette missing two recent issues.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 8^th, 2012.