·:[ Jason On A Shtick ]:·
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A handful of our students volunteer long hours each week to crank out the weekly school paper.  They work out of an old sandwich shop that has been converted into a student publications office in the basement of one of the dorms.  Their adviser is a former newspaper lady that puts in a lot of effort to help them produce a professional looking rag.

After a recent grant money ordering fiasco, we found ourselves with some leftover play money to burn.  We decided to help these dedicated folks out with some new gear for student publications.  They had been using some much older PCs that were underpowered for their needs with Adobe InDesign, Photoshop and Illustrator.

Needless to say, the students were thrilled with the new machines and I think the upgrade has made them more productive.  We even helped them rearrange the office when we delivered the gear.

I stopped in one night while they were hard at work on the next issue.  I was amazed at how seriously they took their work – it was like standing in a real world newsroom.  For me, this is another example of how good technology on campus can make a big difference for students, and something that our IT staff can be proud of having made better.