On the Hard Issues

To Our Readers,

At The Clock, we are dedicated to pursuing and covering, as broadly, accurately, and unbiased as possible, the news that takes place on and around this campus. We feel that we have an obligation to the Plymouth State University community to inform them of what we find newsworthy. Oftentimes, this is harder than it sounds, for many reasons.

First, we are dealt criticism from time to time when people feel that we have neglected an important issue or story. This was the case last semester, when I received a few letters from anonymous students that had fallen victim to sexual assault and abuse on campus. One of the writers charged The Clock with only covering "fluff pieces" and called on us to "step up" and report "the real, hard, problems on our campus."

Step up we have. Alex Cabeceiras, our wonderful News Editor, has been working since the first week of the fall semester on a piece that examines the student judiciary process at PSU, focusing primarily on the way that cases of sexual assault are handled. Personally, I think he has handled this assignment the way any spectacular journalist would: he took his time, he approached multiple sources from a variety of angles, and he reported on what he was told, and nothing else. But what I think doesn't always count, and this is a second reason why our job at The Clock is sometimes so difficult.

We are used to criticism, backlash, accusations of all sorts, and there are times when this criticism is petty enough for us to let roll off of our shoulders and keep on keeping on. Sometimes, though, criticism is warranted, and more times than not it will actually compel us to pursue a new story (as was the case with the anonymous call to The Clock to step up and cover the hard issue), or to revisit an old one from a different angle.

While we attempt to cover every story with as much breadth and scope as we possibly can, we understand that there are almost always a few holes in our reporting. In regards to Alex's article in this issue of The Clock, I want to assure readers that we contacted everyone we could think of that might be able to contribute substantial information on our topic. Considering the sensitivity of the subject, we did not receive responses from a few of those that we had reached out to, which we expected to some degree. Still, I believe that Alex's story is narrated by very strong sources that represent multiple sides of this particular issue. The second thing that I want to assure our readers of is that every sentence of Alex's is supported by fact or by direct quotation, or both. 

I hope readers will consider all that I've said here upon reading Alex's story. I also ask that our readers don't hesitate to write when they feel that we've overlooked an issue, or have missed a particular angle. We got a wake-up call last Spring and we appreciate it. Keep helping us to help you be informed.

Thanks for reading,

Rachael Ferranti

Editor-in-Chief

The Clock

rferranti@plymouth.edu