Written by The Bison
At Harding, the beginning of a school year marks the beginning of many things: classes, the club process, new friendships and so on. It presents opportunities for spiritual, academic and social growth, and it presents opportunities to improve on past weaknesses by, for example, repairing strained relationships.
We would like to take this opportunity to repair the strained relationship we have with much of the faculty and staff. For various reasons, certain professors and administrators are reluctant to speak with us. This reticence, however, stems from earlier incidents with the newspaper.
Since each year features incoming and graduating students, our staff undergoes an annual, and even semiannual, transformation. Some staff members leave, others join, and still others change positions. These periodic changes alter the character of the staff.
The people who hesitate to speak to us now base their hesitance on encounters from years prior, which unfairly condemns the current staff. Several of us were not staff members when those incidents took place, and those of us who were have had time to learn from past errors or offences.
It is easy to adopt a “burn me once, shame on you; burn me twice, shame on me” attitude when previous hurts exist. Easy, but counterproductive.
As journalists at Harding, it is our job to inform the student body. To that end, we strive to accurately and objectively report the goings-on of this university.
The best way to achieve accuracy and objectivity is to consult experts, and that often means consulting our teachers and administrators. When our experts avoid talking to us, the valuable insights they have remain unprinted, and the quality of our publication suffers.
Furthermore, the Bison is a training ground for those of us who wish to pursue careers in journalism. It is the pinnacle of our college education. When our educators – who are here to educate – keep us from being effective journalists, it hinders our learning.
The 2009-10 school year offers a chance to start afresh. We at the Bison are eager to talk to our professors and administrators to produce the best possible publication. We simply need our professors and administrators to reciprocate.
