Hawaii Pacific University’s student newspaper, Kalamalama, announced in its most recent issue that it’ll no longer have a print edition starting next semester. Budget cuts are to blame.

The newspaper, which was established in 1969, is “making the digital shift,” as the Oct. 9 headline reads.

The Kalamalama team hopes to build a strong online presence, with timely, dynamic content and interactive features. According to Editor-in-Chief Kara Jernigan, the website already has a larger readership than the print edition does.

That’s not surprising considering only 6 percent of young Americans get their news from a print newspaper, according to the Pew Research Center.

“Our newspaper staff is taking the budget cut in stride and treating the digital shift as an opportunity to redefine Kalamalama,” Jernigan wrote.

That opportunity, however, is bittersweet for many at HPU. Faculty advisor John Windrow explained that he’s been a “print guy” for more than 30 years, writing:

I remember working with a typewriter as a reporter. I also remember when cell phones and laptops didn’t exist. I have worked at six newspapers since 1980. The Kalamalama makes three that have ceased print publication.

Nowadays, HPU is reinventing herself for very valid economic reasons. This has many ramifications. Change is tough, but Change doesn’t care if you like her or not. If you don’t ask her to dance, someone else will.

Photo: the Kalamalama’s Oct. 9, 2013 issue. (Alia Wong/Civil Beat)

— Alia Wong