Collegian Weekly: One more unsolicited opinion
Issue date: 4/24/08 Section: Opinion
As far as unsolicited opinions go, this is the last from the 2007-2008 Collegian editorial staff.
Conveniently, our topic is unsolicited opinions (the bread and butter of the Collegian Weekly). Nobody asks us what we think (maybe that's a problem), yet because of newspaper tradition and journalism standards, we opined once per week during the school year, without fail.
But enough about the process of journalism (especially now at the end of the year). There's probably little of worth in the community knowing, now, how we've gone about our reporting and thinking all semester.
We've chased a number of hunches, about the psychology department, campus security breaches and plans, online registration delays, the effectiveness of the Honor Code and our stretched maintenance and custodial staffs.
All the while, we've encouraged everybody from students to faculty to administrators to local residents and officials to speak honestly and candidly, and when possible, to offer their soundest opinions.
We try to reserve our opinions while hoping readers will see Hillsdale College in new, fresh ways through our reporting. This also means we want readers to see right through our reporting, to ask further questions when things aren't clear and to form opinions about what goes on here (good or bad).
And we're proud of practical achievements this year: improved newspaper design to better communicate, and a Web site worth checking regularly and exploring for extras.
And we recognize areas to improve: more receptiveness to reader comments and concerns, better bookkeeping with the Student Federation and never-ceasing dedication to reporting the hardest stories to report.
But enough about us, and more about our opinion: We don't want our opinions to be unsolicited. We want readers to come to us with news, all the time, good or bad, sensitive or simple. And we want everyone to believe, as much as we do, that we're a relevant and necessary part of campus culture - something students, alumni, faculty and prospective students should read.
We've come a long way this year and we hope it's noticeable (even though changes are difficult to follow). And we want to continue improving communication on a campus so small that anything less than transparent honesty and plain dealings would be a disservice to the studentry.
We chose this Mom 'n Pop college, we've cared about it through praise and criticism, and although we can't know the future, we think we've used the past and present to prepare us and you for whatever it might be.
We were a college newspaper editorial staff. So it goes.
Conveniently, our topic is unsolicited opinions (the bread and butter of the Collegian Weekly). Nobody asks us what we think (maybe that's a problem), yet because of newspaper tradition and journalism standards, we opined once per week during the school year, without fail.
But enough about the process of journalism (especially now at the end of the year). There's probably little of worth in the community knowing, now, how we've gone about our reporting and thinking all semester.
We've chased a number of hunches, about the psychology department, campus security breaches and plans, online registration delays, the effectiveness of the Honor Code and our stretched maintenance and custodial staffs.
All the while, we've encouraged everybody from students to faculty to administrators to local residents and officials to speak honestly and candidly, and when possible, to offer their soundest opinions.
We try to reserve our opinions while hoping readers will see Hillsdale College in new, fresh ways through our reporting. This also means we want readers to see right through our reporting, to ask further questions when things aren't clear and to form opinions about what goes on here (good or bad).
And we're proud of practical achievements this year: improved newspaper design to better communicate, and a Web site worth checking regularly and exploring for extras.
And we recognize areas to improve: more receptiveness to reader comments and concerns, better bookkeeping with the Student Federation and never-ceasing dedication to reporting the hardest stories to report.
But enough about us, and more about our opinion: We don't want our opinions to be unsolicited. We want readers to come to us with news, all the time, good or bad, sensitive or simple. And we want everyone to believe, as much as we do, that we're a relevant and necessary part of campus culture - something students, alumni, faculty and prospective students should read.
We've come a long way this year and we hope it's noticeable (even though changes are difficult to follow). And we want to continue improving communication on a campus so small that anything less than transparent honesty and plain dealings would be a disservice to the studentry.
We chose this Mom 'n Pop college, we've cared about it through praise and criticism, and although we can't know the future, we think we've used the past and present to prepare us and you for whatever it might be.
We were a college newspaper editorial staff. So it goes.
Be the first to comment on this story