By Haleigh Miller ’12, News Section Editor

Two years ago, The Scroll made the transition from a traditional paper format to an entirely online set up. Going paperless has allowed the paper to, in theory, be far more accessible to people off campus. However, since going paperless, some have called for The Scroll to return to the traditional paper format. Despite these suggestions, the Scroll has no intention of returning to a paper edition.

While suggestions that The Scroll return to paper have been heard from students and parents in some volume since the switch, a survey conducted by The Scroll revealed that 66.7 percent of the Upper School community recommended The Scroll should stay online.

The same survey revealed that 63.4 percent of respondents like reading The Scroll online and 49.5 percent read it more in its current format as opposed to the 26.9 percent who read it more before. The remaining respondents either read The Scroll the same amount, or never read The Scroll.

The survey included an anonymous comments section. Most of the responses encouraged The Scroll to stay online. One member of the community said, “I think that The Scroll should not undergo this heinous act to convert back to a printed paper. This is blasphemy that this would even be considered.”

While few felt quite so strongly, most who took the time to respond to the survey and add comments were in favor of The Scroll staying either entirely online, or only using paper occasionally. Some additional comments were:

“I really think The Scroll should stay online because it’s not only great for viewership but also the environment. It’s sad seeing so many newspapers in the garbage at the end of the day Friday.”

“I think it should stay mainly online, but have a few paper editions with select articles for convenience.”

While a few were less encouraging and requested a return to paper, these were in the minority in both the comments section and in the responses to poll questions.

Co-editor-in-chief Cody Pomeranz ’11 said that working online “allows us to do so much more.”

“The paper could not have had a live video of Rameez Khan’s buzzer beater, and it’s also nice when interviews aren’t always text. They’re a lot of fun to listen to,” Cody Pomeranz ’11 said. “We can do slideshows and photos too.” Since going online, The Scroll has added Vuvox photo galleries and vidoes like The Raddish News Station and Interview of the Month to compliment text articles.

Some of the biggest motivating factors behind making the switch were the possibilities for expanding the capabilities of The Scroll, both in terms of different media and timeliness. By switching online, The Scroll now has the ability to update as frequently as desired, whether it’s on a weekly, bi-weekly, or whenever-there’s-something-happening-basis.

Former editor-in-chief Will Portman ’10, led the move to bring The Scroll online. “It was really cool that you can be really current with the material, more up to date,” Portman said. He added that by staying electronic, The Scroll is accessible to alumni and the extended CCDS community, while saving costs and resources.

While both Pomeranz and Portman focused on the pros of an online format, they both recognized that there are some cons to an online format. “It is clear that posting once a week is a lot more difficult than once a month. It puts a strain on everybody… and I understand liking to hold a paper in your hands,” Pomeranz said. In addition, in a small school, it’s very possible to run out of ideas for articles and have to resort to perhaps less interesting news in order to meet quotas, he added.

Both editors recalled the meeting two years ago when the decision to switch online was made. They were both excited about it from the start because of the possibilities, but recognized the significant resistance from other members of the staff. The largest objection was the concern that the staff would have to do more work, but that The Scroll might be read less. However, since The Scroll has gone online, the paper has received nearly 170,000 views, with 3,801 views on the day of the launch. Most months, the site averages around 300 page views per day. While there may be more work for the staff, most seem to think it has paid off.

Despite original concerns and some who would prefer a return to a paper format, The Scroll has no plan return to paper. “I have a very distinct memory of walking into a classroom, and finding every one of that advisory’s copies of The Scroll papers throw in the recycling bin,” Pomeranz said. “It was a waste of paper and a waste of time, so I am really confident in our decision.”