To SIU President Randy Dunn and the SIU Board of Trustees:
The Chicago Headline Club is extremely disturbed by reports that Southern Illinois University’s “Daily Egyptian” newspaper may discontinue due to lack of funding. The nearly century-old Daily Egyptian is one of the crown jewels of SIU, and has trained hundreds of professional journalists around the country. It is an integral part of education of journalists at SIU-C, and nothing can really replace the hands-on training that a student-run, daily newspaper provides. It is not only a valuable resource for students, but for the community of Southern Illinois.
The loss or diminishing of this paper would be a loss for journalism education and journalism itself. We encourage the SIU Board of Trustees to find a reliable funding source to keep the Daily Egyptian alive and healthy so the tradition of journalism excellence associated with both the Daily Egyptian and Southern Illinois University can continue.