By Kelsey Durham
Students working for St. John’s University’s campus newspaper, The Torch, are negotiating with school officials after being told last week that their office was set to be relocated to a much smaller space that the paper thinks will be a hindrance to its everyday operations.
In a story published to The Torch’s website May 1, the paper reported its staff was informed by school administrators that the publication would be moved to another office in the D’Angelo Center that currently serves three graduate assistants.
The news sparked outrage and confusion from the independently run paper’s 15-member workforce and from school faculty who serve as advisers to the paper, all of whom say they were not consulted before the decision was made, and The Torch’s staff said it is now in talks with SJU administrators to rework the plan and provide the paper with a different room that will better serve the students.
Samantha Albanese, editor in chief of The Torch, said she was told by university officials that the paper would need to move from its current larger office because the school needed the space for other programs.
The university said this week that the move was part of a much larger plan that includes the relocation of 130 student organizations throughout the summer in order to maximize the office space the school’s buildings offer.
“At present, The Torch shares office space with two other organizations,” said Elizabeth Reilly, director of media relations at SJU. “This plan gives The Torch a new, private room that is equal in size to the space they are currently assigned.”
When the plan was first announced, some of the paper’s staff believed the decision was in response to the Torch’s in-depth coverage of an investigation into former school President the Rev. Donald Harrington, who retired last year after admitting he had received lavish gifts from a former dean of international relations, Cecilia Chang.
Chang committed suicide in November 2012 while she was on trial in federal court on charges of defrauding St. John’s out of more than $1 million.
Albanese said that while an act of revenge was an initial concern, the staff at The Torch has since moved on from that idea.
“When it was brought up at a meeting with the vice president and dean of students on Friday, the notion of retaliation was greatly dismissed,” she said. “They expressed their love and respect for The Torch.”
Since the relocation was announced, Albanese said the paper has had multiple meetings with SJU administrators and has started discussing how the newly assigned space would affect the paper’s production. Though the space is smaller, The Torch’s story said the school agreed to fashion it after a more modern newsroom like ones used at Google and Twitter, with bean bag chairs and stand-up work stations as opposed to the standard desk space.
“The staff hopes we are now getting the voice in the decision-making process that we should have had from the beginning of the discussion months ago,” Albanese said. “The current Torch staff is pleased that the administration is willing to hear and work with our needs for an office space. We hope this continues and a solution is found in the near future.”
Reach reporter Kelsey Durham at 718-260-4573 or by e-mail at kdurham@cnglocal.com.
