Campus paper has impartial role

Today marks the start of SGA Elections and the last time I will experience FAMU-style campaigning.

Unfortunately, I am on a side of campaigning that I have never been on before – the unbiased one. While I have been involved with The Famuan for a couple of years, my new role in this year’s elections requires several things from me.

One of those requirements is that I don’t publicly support any ticket. While some people may know me personally and may have an idea of who I may support, as editor in chief I represent The Famuan, and The Famuan does not have any favorites. As a matter of fact, we don’t like any one candidate over the others.

As the press, we are expected to remain impartial when reporting. While many entities may stray from practicing good ethics, The Famuan is not one of them.

Another one of my duties this year is to cover the elections in a way that hasn’t been done before. In the past, The Famuan has endorsed candidates but we will not do so this year. An endorsement will hinder the newspaper from being fair to every candidate because it will give the impression of bias where none should exist. So in Friday’s issue, we will present the full platforms of all of the candidates vying for SGA President and Vice President and give a brief synopsis of all other platforms.

Also, during this election season, I am responsible for policing my staff and ensuring that writers are not inserting their personal bias into stories. I also have to be aware of who may be participating in campaigns. With that said, I must add that The Famuan does not permit any staffers to participate in anyone’s campaign. When we find out about it, they are not allowed to be involved with any election coverage.

We are very serious about being fair in our election coverage, which is our policy with all reporting, despite what many people may say or think. As readers, you can aid us in covering all sides of an issue by answering our questions when we have them and giving your opinion when it is solicited.

It is my experience that some people have a problem with The Famuan when our reporting of campus events does not put them in the positive light they think they should be in. Those same people are usually the ones who were unavailable for comment.

With so many prominent people running for positions, the stage is set for an interesting election season. We will do our best to make sure we cover everything fairly and completely.

May the best candidates win.

Alexia R. Robinson is a senior magazine production student from Jacksonville. She is the editor in chief of The Famuan. Contact her at thefamuaneditor@hotmail.com.