Friends, ethics fail to obstruct work

It brings a smile to my face when I hear somebody saying they heard about a certain situation from reading The Famuan

It shows me that we did our job right.

Whether it was about the still ongoing SGA elections, the cancencellation of the Be Out Day concert or when BET missed its mark on Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, we were on it.

And we got our share of criticisms in the process.

We’ve been called inaccurate, irresponsible and irrelevant in our writings on campus news.

It’s just hate.

But the last place I would expect hate from is within the confines of the university that supposedly practices excellence with caring.

As the news team, myself, Tanya Caldwell, DeAnna L. Carpenter and Aricka M. Foreman are here to tell you what’s going on around our house and beyond. Our job was to inform you about the most severe cold front Tallahassee has seen in years.

It was to tell you about a new program being done locally for those who couldn’t afford to get their four-year degrees at either of the universities in town.

But our job was also to inform you about internal issues with the Gainous administration, as well as procedural problems with SGA’s spring elections.

It’s tough being a journalist when you have to cover a meeting of the college democrats where somebody talks bad about the organization. The group’s president may be a good friend of yours.

We’re all involved in different organizations and have friends outside the J-school. And it is difficult to write an objective story where you have to fear a backlash by your friend, but we have to because it’s our job.

Many people fail to realize when we get important documents pertaining to FAMU’s administration or student government, we’re doing our job by reporting on it.

It’s nothing personal. That’s what we’re here for.

Marlon A. Walker is a senior newspaper journalism student from Detroit. He is the Famuan’s News Editor. He can be reached at MarlonAWalker@aol.com.