The Subterranean Crusader is now suffering from a severe budgetary crisis. In this past week, the administration notified the editors of the cost of copies made on the school's copier — not just for the paper, but for a part of the cost of the machine. As it appears, the Business Office has not bought, but is only leasing, the copiers at this school. Each copy made on the copier in the Academic Office (downstairs, Menlo Hall) costs the school $0.04. Then they pay for paper, which costs another $0.006, for a total of almost $0.05 per copy — a truly exorbitant rate. And that rate is by the impressment, so that each copy of the Subterranean has been costing the school $0.20. And for 250 copies a week, that adds up — fast!
As a result, we have searched for — and found — a solution. First, copies will now be made elsewhere, where we have procured a rate of $0.03 per impressment. Second, we are instituting a subscription policy. For $2.00 (payable any time after December 1), subscribers will be guaranteed a copy of the Subterranean every week until the end of the school year, a total of 21 issues starting on January 1. We will still produce 250 copies per week, and those not guaranteed to subscribers will be sold at random on a first come, first serve basis for ten cents each starting January 1. For an additional $7.00, subscribers can have their copies of the Crusader mailed to their homes. Subscribers will have complementary access to the Menlo BBS Online Edition of the Subterranean Crusader. Regular writers will receive free copies at our discretion. Finally, we will be offering advertisement space, at a rate of $5.00 for each quarter-page (lower bargain rates available).
On this sorry note, we, as students only, must ask a simple question: why does the school pay five cents per impressment, when such lower costs are readily available? Teachers are making thousands of copies per week, administrators nearly as many, and yet the school's administration persists in this seemingly foolhardy course. Perhaps the Business Office will respond to this point in a reasonable manner, by sending us a letter of concrete explanation: we would certainly benefit from better insight into this, as well as other points — we often seem to see our tuitions evaporating, as sprinklers water the ever-parched concrete.
The Editors