Spring Fund-Raiser and Event

Dear Alumni,

We're writing you to tell you about the Daily Free Press Alumni Association's first major fund-raiser and event. We all know about the perils of the journalism industry, and the Free Press hasn't been immune to those challenges faced by other major newspapers. Turley Publications - proud printer of the Daily Free Press for many years - is demanding a faster repayment of the paper's debt, which is currently above $70,000.

As many of you know, Turley has been incredibly patient with the Freep over the years, but when they get serious, they get serious indeed. They recently suggested two ways for the paper to raise money: Taking cash from Boston University or reaching out to alumni.

The first proposal would effectively end the Freep as we worked for it. If the paper took money from the school, it could no longer stand as the independent newspaper at Boston University. That's unacceptable. The second idea, however, is something with which alumni can help.

All of us are hurting in this economy, and the Freep has already had to make very difficult decisions. The paper recently suspended printing on Fridays while it waits for the economy to improve and advertisers to return to a traditionally difficult day of the week. Any financial support alumni can give will allow the paper to pay down the debt to Turley and keep them willing to print. Turley is mainly interested in seeing a consistent flow of payment, not payment in incredibly large amounts. And not relying on large amounts works well for both the Freep and us.

For the next two months, we're asking you to donate what you can, when you can. Sending a couple dollars to the Free Press' PayPal account or writing the paper a more substantial check will go a long way to help sustain quality, independent, student journalism at Boston University. We hope the alumni can raise at least $2,000 that will be added to what the paper is already collecting from advertising, and will go directly to paying down Turley.

The Freep PayPal account is down for the moment, but we'll send an update as soon as it's up and running again. In the meantime, you can send checks to Back Bay Publishing at 648 Beacon St., Boston, 02215. Make sure you put "Alumni Association" in the memo line.

We'll be tallying your contributions throughout April and May and conclude the donation drive with an alumni get-together at Kitty O'Shea's in Boston on Saturday, May 30. The Daily Free Press Alumni Association will collect donations up through the celebration and make a final presentation to Back Bay Publishing and the Free Press that evening. We hope to see as many alumni as possible, so mark your calendars now!

For many of us, the time we spent at the Free Press led to some of the most meaningful experiences of our lives. The Freep is where we learned how to really write and how to work with other driven and passionate people, and it's where we made friendships that we carry with us to this day. These students at the paper now have already sacrificed so much to continue the proud tradition of the Daily Free Press, and we hope our combined efforts can ensure the paper continues for future generations.

Thank you very much for your past and future support, and we're looking forward to seeing old friends and making new ones on May 30.

Sincerely,

Dan Atkinson, President
Neal Simpson, Vice President
Jessica Kribbs, Treasurer
Kyle Cheney, Alumni Liaison
Chloe Gotsis, Clerk
Maggie Mastricola, Webmaster
Bill Yelenak, Director
Chris Cassidy, Director