With the introduction of The Current’s website, no physical copies of The Current are being made and distributed around the school. Some would say that this is a step in the right direction, offering an eco-friendly and more efficient alternative to print. A website where all news articles are held that are school-related? It’s a great idea! But how often are people actually visiting the site?

This begs the question, should The Current return to being in its original paper form? Not entirely. Having a website for news is good, but it can’t be the only source for information. A lot of people either don’t want to take the time to visit the website. In a world where efficiency is growing in value, people want their news to come to them. I remember always being in the library freshman year and seeing Tal Mintz handing out issues of The Current to the students. Those were the times when I read the most. Now, with The Current being solely on the Internet, I don’t read it that often. It’s not because I don’t want to read it, but because I don’t have the time to actually open up the website and read. This also brings up the topic of portability.

Portability is something Americans want. The physical copy of The Current provided this. If I didn’t finish what I was reading, I could stick it in my bag and read it later. I can’t do that with The Current in its current form (pun intended). I have to keep my laptop turned on if I didn’t finish reading an article and subsequently lose battery life! I also have to be within the range of a Wi-Fi network, and if there is no internet, there is no paper. While it seems that The Current returning to its paper form would be what is best for the newspaper, the website offers some things the paper form cannot.

The Current website allows for the storage of past articles. I can now look through the website and read articles from the beginning of the year. This is similar to how the New York Times website works, which has stored articles from the 70’s. Aside from storing articles from the past, the website works as a fallback. The online version also increases accessibility. Readers don’t have to worry about losing a newspaper and not being able to read any articles. Everything is there, on the Internet for you to read. So, should the Current go back to paper?

Well, yes. But not entirely. The Current website is great. Everything is there, it’s user friendly and there is an awesome comment section where you can discuss your opinions. However, the physical copy was great too. I could read it anywhere, from the library to my track meets. Which is why I believe that physical copies of The Current should be released to the OHS students again, along with the website. Were you unable to get a copy of The Current in school? Just go to the website. Are you busy after school and will not have time to logon and open the website? Get a physical copy. The addition of the physical copy of The Current, alongside the website, would increase readership.