The Wayne
Communique
VOLUME I ^
WAYNE COMMUNITY COLLEGE
DATE March 6, 1969
SPECIAL EDITION !!
AN INTERVIEW WITH WILLIAM SHATNER, STAR OF NBC-TV's "STAR TREK"
KH1 tor's Note: On Washington's Birthday, February 22, Belk's Department Store
in New Bern was host to William Shatner, who plays Captain James T. Kirk in the NBC
TV series "Star Trek." Through no small miracle, with the help of R. W. Baker, the
Sales Manager of Belk's, I managed to schedule an interview with Mr. Shatner.
Edward Nicholson, the Dean of Academic Affairs, graciously consented to drive
James Joyner, the future editor of the Communigue~I and myself to New Bern and back,
go....loaded down with three cameras, film, flash cubes, a new portable tape re
corder from the library, and oiir gifts to Mr. Shatner, we started out early Satur
day morning.
We spent approximately 35 minutes with Mr. Shatner in Mr. Baker's office. Of
course, the first question we asked was if there were any chance "Star Trek" would
not be canceled next season
Nicholson: Would it help to \^rite?
u-P■ Shatner: No, I think it's too late
for that^ But it'll go through the sum-
reruns. They're changing the time
slot to Tuesdays at 7:30 in April.
Karen: They should have done that before.
Shatner: Yes, they should have. That
may have some results If the ratings go
•up dramatically, it may have some result.
But, to all intents and purposes, the
program's canceled.
I'm curious. Is this for a particular
subject?
James: No. Karen's the editor and I'm
the co-editor of our school paper.
Karen: The Wayne Communique'^
mt.■ Shatner: Oh, I see. So it's really
a newspaper rather than for any academic
credit of any kind.
Mr. Nicholson: In a two-year college,
you always have the problem of a vary
ing quality of student interest and
you're helping to maintain it.
Mr. Shatner: (laughing) Well, I don't
know; my English may not be very good.
But we had the same problem. I went to
McGill at the University of Montreal and,
of course, every college has the same
problem—the constant turnover. The
football team gets the most publicity,
(laughing) but it works for the news
paper, too, doesn't it?
Karen: Did you work on the newspaper?
Mr. Shatner; No. My office for the
college musicals and the theater society
was next door (laughing) to the newspaper.
But I didn't work on the newspaper at all;
I didn't do any creative writing on it.
Karen: Then you've never written any
scripts?