Wow, it’s already February and that can only mean one thing: it’s time for the Dailyer to request student fee money again! It’s a cherished tradition for the Dailyer, we look at our finances from the last year and think to ourselves “huh, we really need the student body to bail us out again.”

I’m joking about the bailout, but we really do depend on student fees to be able to put out a quality publication. The Dailyer is coming off it’s most financially successful year to date, we’ve nearly tripled our advertising revenue from last year, and because of this have started paying our staff for the first time ever.

Currently, student fees pay for our printing and libel insurance, with all of our other expenditures coming from our advertising revenue. We’re running a surplus and we are proud of that. It would be easy to look at our situation and come to the conclusion that if we are making money on our own we don’t need student fees.

But the student fee money has allowed us to take the money we make from advertisements and put it back into the paper, improving the product that the student body (hopefully) enjoys.

So the Dailyer has done some soul searching, trying to figure out the best way for our paper to build on the success we have had this year, and we came to the conclusion that now is the time to try and expand.

Tuesday, Feb. 4, the Dailyer will request an increase in student fees from 15 cents per semester, to 60 cents per semester. This increase will be used to expand the Dailyer from seven print editions each semester to 14.

This would make us a nearly weekly publication, with the exception of holidays and finals week. The fee increase would cover our printing costs, as well as payroll for the hardworking staff. It is my belief that paying the staff this year has been one of the biggest reasons why our content has improved.

Even after this increase, we would still be the smallest student fee user on campus. And the Dailyer gives something tangible to the student body. Not to mention the fact that we provide a place for students to gain work experience within a structured organization.

We’re one of five Big Ten schools that have a satirical newspaper, and we print more frequently than any of them. Having a satirical newspaper at UNL is a unique benefit for the student body.

Securing this additional funding will guarantee the student body a quality, weekly publication. Plus, printing every week will make it easier to cover more timely, relevant content for the students to enjoy. People like reading funny stuff about events in their community that they care about, and increasing our printing frequency we would be able to give the students more of what they love.

So give us a hand, UNL. If you trust us with an extra 45 cents, we will deliver you the same local satire that you know and love, but twice as often.