Andres Rivera
Staff Writer
Readers who can’t wait until Friday to know what’s going on in their campus community will no longer have to.
Starting Tuesday, the Campus Times Web site will be updated with fresh stories three days a week, instead of just one.
The thrice-weekly updates are only phase one of the changes planned for the newspapers’s online edition this semester.
By mid-semester, the site will have a whole new, more sophisticated, look.
As part of their senior projects, four seniors will be updating and upgrading the Campus Times Online edition.
The new Web editor, senior communications major Steven Falls, will head up the project.
Falls will do much of the reporting and editing for the Web site, which will be updated with new stories Monday and Wednesday evenings, in addition to regular Friday postings.
“It will come close to a regular, professional news site,” Falls said. “Those are updated constantly.”
Falls will also consult with student designers.
The redesign – set for an early April launch – will be handled by three senior communications majors.
The team will be looking at different news Web sites for guidance in giving the Web site a more professional news look.
Each member of the team brings a particular strength.
Erin Zabarnick, for example, will be working as a consultant on color scheme and layout along with other technical aspects.
She will also be involved in promotional activities.
“We have never done banner or flash advertising before,” Zabarnick said. “That’s something new.”
Elizabeth Zwerling, Campus Times adviser, will advise the project and consult with the students’ as well. She will be editing some of the stories that will be appearing in the online edition.
“It’s very exciting,” Zwerling said. “It will reflect the quality of professional work that we are aspiring to.”
Zwerling wanted to give the Web site a new look and suggested the idea to Falls, who did not have a senior project at the time.
“I am confident in his abilities,” she said. “It is a really important job and I wouldn’t give it to just anyone.”
The other students had either collaborated with Zwerling before, or were recommended by Maia Kinsinger, assistant professor of communications, who is advising the designers.
A launch party is planned for after spring break; its exact time and place have yet to be determined.
The online edition of the Campus Times can be found at www.ulv.edu/campustimes.
Andres Rivera can be reached at arivera3@ulv.edu.
