Due to a series of miscommunications that remain mostly unresolved, Spotlight, a traditional student and staff directory known for its quirky mix of information and humor, will not be published until April—if it is published at all.

Spotlight is usually in students' hands by the middle of Fall Semester.

Due to the unprecedented delays, Macalester College Student Government (MCSG), which provides most of Spotlight's budget, is reconsidering if it wants to fund Spotlight's publication.

After months of missed deadlines due to severe understaffing and a myriad of technical difficulties, Spotlight's editors, Meg Stinchcomb '04 and Loren Smith '03, thought they had finally completed their task in February when they delivered a completed digital version of the publication to Shakopee Valley Printing.

At that point, Stinchcomb and Smith believed that Spotlight would be on campus by the beginning of March.

However, recent major miscommunications between the editors and Shakopee Valley Printing, have stalled the printing process. As of press time, Spotlight remains in virtually the same stage as it was at the beginning of February.

The circumstances surrounding the latest major delay are still uncertain. In fact, as the first of March came and went, the Campus Programs office knew little of Spotlight's latest delay. However, after returning from a vacation on Monday, Assistant Director of Campus Programs Tara Stormoen, received a voicemail from Shakopee.

In the voicemail, a staff member at Shakopee said that the printer had been unable to contact the editors about several vital issues, and were thus unable to begin printing Spotlight. According to Stormoen, the printer has technical issues with the cover and needs to clarify several corrections made by Stinchcomb and Smith. Inaddition, the printer claims to have not yet to received Smith and Stinchcomb's official sign-off on the final edition.

Smith corroborated that the problems with Spotlight could still possibly exist, but she was unable to explain why the printer called Stormoen to complain she and Stinchcomb are unreachable. She said she and Shakopee were in close contact until a few weeks ago, when she passed the management reigns to Stinchcomb.

"It does not make any sense," said Smith. "I've [even] been to their offices a couple of times."

According to Smith, throughout the month of February she had worked with the printer to solve many technical difficulties. Smith says that she asked Stinchcomb to take over because she was falling behind in her studies and internship because of her Spotlight duties.

"I've sort of washed my hands of it," Smith said.

Stinchcomb said that she had talked with Shakopee employee Jodie Herman as late as last week, but was unavailable for further comment.

At Tuesday's weekly MCSG meeting, Stormoen presented what she had learned on the voicemail. After an extensive debate on whether or not to print Spotlight, MCSG decided to delay a vote until they can establish more facts about Spotlight's situation.

MCSG Vice President Edward Donkor is attempting to schedule a Sunday interview with Stinchcomb and Smith to determine their opinions on the publication and to get a better idea of the exact situation.

According to Stormoen, the usefulness of a Spotlight released only several weeks before its information becomes invalid is questionable.

"As a staff member, I don't need one anymore," said Stormoen.

Both Stormoen and Wagner, on the other hand, note that Spotlight is useful to students for reasons other than directorial information. Wagner, for instance, believes that the publication has value as a means of archiving a year's worth of students life at the college.

Similarly, Several MCSG members noted that Spotlight's humorous nature and traditional status gives the publication value as a memento for graduating seniors.

The humor, however, may change in this year's Spotlight, if it is printed. Stinchcomb and Smith, who entered the job without sufficient computer or layout skills, chose to outsource much of Spotlight production work to an MCAD student. Both editors very openly warn that the MCAD student's comical contributions are not the typical Macalester-brand humor.

"There were a couple of instances that we thought would make people uncomfortable," said Smith.

If MCSG chooses to cancel the printing of Spotlight, the publication's future will become increasingly foggy. Campus Programs was already pondering presenting the possibility of replacing Spotlight with a formal annual yearbook.

Wagner fears that after this year's mishaps Spotlight will lose credibility with advertisers. Wagner also worries that if MCSG cancels printing it will be difficult to properly compensate advertisers whose ads will not reach students.

Stormoen hopes that the controversy surrounding this year's Spotlight will serve as a learning experience for both those involved this year, and student publication staff in future semesters.

"I'm excited how this will continue to be a learning experience. Think about the skills they've learned," she said, referring to both the political and technical nature of Smith and Stinchcomb's positions.