[FuzzieAlum]

As a former college paper editor, that was a big pet peeve of mine. We ran occasional movie or CD reviews, and of course our editorial columnists could write about non-campus issues if they wished, but I made a big point of not writing about the local sports teams (we were in a big city - geez, read the Plain Dealer for that, they'll do better coverage) and our news stories were about campus. No pet care stories for us! Of course, being Greek I tried to make sure we covered rush, etc.

Not every newspaper editor has those priorities, however, and because it's a student publication, priorities will frequently shift from year to year. The gal before me had a strong advocacy/social change outlook, for example. The best way to get Greeks covered is to have Greeks on the paper staff. That may sound obvious, but ... even though we didn't use beat reporters, we finally did use one for Greek life, and they had to be Greek, because otherwise every time some new reporter wrote a story about Greek life, he had to learn the Greek alphabet, rush, and everything else all over again, giving our news and copy editors nightmares.

I can tell you that, as good as it may feel, writing a letter to the editor saying "cover us" is probably the least effective thing you can do. Almost as ineffective is the chapter writing its own story and sending it in - chances are it won't be usable (to say nothing of violating the principles of objectivity). Best is getting someone on staff who can push for coverage. Second best is going the proper PR route and sending out press releases, calling for follow-up, and inviting reporters and photographers to events like Greek Week or dance a thons.