During this week’s Student Government Association meeting, International Student Federation senator Shahida Flores expressed her opinion: She claimed that The University News has not been accurately reflecting the voice of Saint Louis University students. We appreciate this criticism. Without criticism and input, there would be no improvement. And, to a certain extent, we agree with Flores. Let us explain.
As our masthead states, we are a voice of the University. We are not, and have never claimed to be, its sole, cohesive voice. As it stands, The University News is merely the voice of those who have chosen to offer their words to the printed page.
You, the student body, have just elected new SGA senators and executive board members who must attempt to define that sole, cohesive voice next year. Identifying it and acting upon it is their responsibility. (We wish them luck-it’s a dicey business.)
We are aware of much of the criticism directed toward The University News, criticism like Senator Flores passionate announcement last Wednesday. We consistently strive to better the paper. As such, we believe that mistakes in grammar and factual accuracy are inexcusable-but they are sometimes inevitable. Like SLUTV, KSLU and SGA, The University News is student-operated. Although we are not professional journalists, we strive to publish in a professional manner. Our faults are not unique. We are, however, in the unique position of being read weekly by the SLU community.
We are proud of the product we put out every Friday, mistakes and all.
We have a small staff of volunteer writers and photographers. At the end of the day (and into the early morning), nine students put the paper to bed. We operate without the luxury of a journalism department’s backing and experience. We operate without the benefit of a SLU-supported communication course that offers academic credit for student involvement with the paper.
We do our best from week to week to objectively cover all newsworthy events on campus-from big-name speakers like Bob Woodward, co-revealer of the Watergate scandal, to the addition of club baseball to SLU’s selection of intermural sports. If there is something happening at SLU, it should be reported. We believe that this provision of information is a vital service to the University community.
In addition to informing, it is also the historical function of a newspaper to persuade. That’s where the op/ed pages come in. Students, professors and staff members across campus debate news issues in commentaries and letters to the editor. An editorial board of nine students debates and deciphers SLU news, striving for well-balanced consensus. Those ideas are then translated into editorials.
The endorsements we ran last week are, as we explained, an extension of the editorial function of the paper.
We stand by our endorsements. We do not-and will not-apologize for what we have written. It was not our intent to offend, but rather to present our impressions and observations of the candidates in the clearest and most candid terms possible. After attending this year’s debates and interviewing the candidates at length, we evaluated each on three primary criteria: qualifications and experience, personality and interpersonal skills and, finally, ideas that he or she brought to the table.
Some have criticized us for being too personal in our candidate appraisals. The fact is that leadership qualities are personal. To ignore personal traits in those who will represent us next year would be negligent on our part.
In an e-mail to the editorial board, SGA President Evan Krauss noted that, in our endorsements, we failed to mention the tremendous courage candidates must possess when putting themselves in the public eye for all of SLU to praise or critique. We understand this at The University News. It takes tremendous courage to put one’s name on a byline or photo credit to be printed on 7,000 papers, distributed around the campus and city and archived indefinitely. It takes courage to expect criticism, receive it, learn from it and improve one’s work, all in the public eye.
Krauss also pointed out that all of these candidates ran for these positions with the respectable goal of serving the University. Our endorsement, too, offered a service to the University, providing information beyond readily available campaign posters and the public debates.
We are not trying to mince words: We would love to represent all of the diverse viewpoints and issues contained within the confines of this campus. In order to do so, however, a considerable number of SLU’s 7,000 undergraduate students would need to lend their own voices to our effort.
We would prefer to think of The University News as an open dialogue within the University, rather than a simple “voice.” So speak up. Be proactive. If you notice mistakes that irk you, drop by Busch Student Center Suite 354 and copy edit with us on Wednesday and Thursday evenings-we welcome your help. If you think the news coverage is drab, draft a letter to the editor indicating the events you would like to see covered. (Drop us a line at [email protected].) Rather than tacitly thinking, “My photographs are so much better than that,” add your name to our photo list and keep your camera close at hand. It is within the power of every SLU student to truly make the paper his or her own.
We sincerely thank those who have offered criticism. It is something we value, and we use it as a basis for further improvement.
If you want The University News to express your opinion, to acknowledge your perspective, to sound your voice-then offer it. Write a letter to the editor. Write a commentary. Write a news story. Take photographs. Copy edit.
Make this publication your own.
