Last semester, the editorial staff at The Daily Reveille opted to reduce print frequency to alleviate financial woes. 
After losing significant advertising revenue and nearly depleting fiscal reserves, the University paper has gone from printing 5 times per week to one. The paper was previously printed as a campus daily since 2002. 
The decision to run a print edition of The Reveille leading into Mardi Gras break does not adhere to the same deliberate thought and consistency that spurred them to reduce print frequency. The publication was  not sensible considering the costs and  returns on investments — in terms of labor costs, printing costs and distribution costs, but also in terms of viewership. 
The Feb. 23 edition of The Reveille was on stands for just two full days of class before the current edition was distributed. The majority of the paper’s target audience — University students — weren’t there. 
Several students leave campus early with impending breaks, so two “full” days is even up for debate. Nonetheless, the paper was still printed. The return on investment for both the printed paper and its advertisers was close to nonexistent.
The editorial staff should explore the possibility of not offering a print edition during shortened school weeks to maximize efficacy. 
In a letter to University students following the decision to transition to a weekly last October, Reveille student leadership claimed the change would, “…allow us to improve our digital footprint on LSUNow.com — the online hub for all LSU Student Media content.” With focus on improving their digital footprint, it would have been the perfect time to probe the reach of a fully online edition. 
Continuing, I’m not heavy on naivete so I don’t have the impression that students view The Reveille as a source of information. That’s not to say I don’t take immense pride in writing for it, but in my experience, most students that I’ve spoken to treat it as something to glance over while they’re waiting for class. 
When class is out, hard copies of The Daily Reveille waste away in distribution racks without students to read them, effectively defeating their purpose.
Laissez le bons temps rouler, I suppose.
Christopher Godail is a 27-year-old interdisciplinary studies junior from Kenner, Louisiana.