We The Backpage, a conglomeration of Whitman students committed to providing comedy and coincidence to the student newspaper experience, are entitled to and deserving of social and financial equality within the Whitman College Pioneer writer’s staff. Students, community members and alumni value The Backpage. Yet, within the newsroom, it is frequently the subject of dismissal, ridicule and half-page advertisements.
The Backpage does not bother students about passivity in the green energy movement, missing “great” lectures on climbing Kilimanjaro, the exact route a dining hall banana took from Chile to it’s metal basket, scores of an under-under-underdog baseball team or a recently graduated student who still is not earning that much money but is pursuing their dreams regardless. The Backpage is a creative and yet constructed break.
The Backpage requires tact and wit. While other writers are given words during interviews they can copy-and-paste into an article, Backpage writers must create these dialogues. While other writers are given photos of events that are taken for them, Backpage writers must communicate with illustrators to create the visual experience of an article. While other writers are given a direction, Backpage writers must forge their own path.
The Backpage writers not only get less pay; they also get less page, and yet they are still required every week to have enough material for an entire page even if it is not used. The Backpage does not have the right to enter any writing competitions and cannot garner formal praise. The Backpage is under-appreciated, ridiculed and underfunded.
Therefore, the Backpage proposes that The Whitman College Pioneer institute a three-step solution to resolve this great injustice.
1. The Backpage will have a $1 raise.
2. The Backpage will have an official Backpage Appreciation Week.
3. The Backpage will have a bi-yearly competition for best article.
If all of these demands are met, The Backpage will cease the strike and resume working as individual and equal contributors to The Backpage section of the Whitman College Pioneer.
Sincerely,
The Backpage Writers
Shelly Le • Nov 19, 2013 at 12:55 am
Please note, this piece was not written in response to the letter signed by those protesting cyberbullying and racism on campus at the rally that occurred on Nov. 7, and eventually submitted to the Board of Trustees. Although published on the same day of the rally, this piece was commissioned and written before the letter was released to The Pioneer and the public.
Gladys • Nov 16, 2013 at 6:54 pm
I’m glad you decided it was okay to mock the experiences and concerns of people of color on this campus. I guess this is pretty accurate though, we’re a joke here.