Written by The Bison
When Bryan Clifton stepped down as SA President, we at The Bison knew we would have to cover it as a news story. When some people picked up a copy of this newspaper and started reading that news story, they were hoping to find private details, confirmed rumors, juicy gossip and the “real story” behind Bryan’s departure.
We sincerely hope those people were disappointed by what they read.
As reporters we are tasked with finding, and sometimes uncovering, truth. But we do it for the benefit of society, so that you may know what you need to live freely and fully. While some newspapers would refuse to rest until they had exposed every single detail of the “momentary lack of judgment” Bryan referred to in his chapel speech, we saw that we had a choice. We could pursue full exposure, which would satisfy a lot of the base, prurient curiosity out there, but likely at the cost of someone’s reputation. Or we could practice restraint and limit our inquiries to matters that have a direct impact on our lives and our values. We chose the second path, chose to hold human dignity above animal curiosity. We believe we are justified professionally and ethically.
We cannot make this choice for others; even the best reporting won’t freeze every rumor. But we would encourage members of the student body, when they hear something that could be true, would be scandalous or embarrassing if it was true, to be their own journalists. Always ask questions. How did you hear this information? When did you hear it? Have you checked it with people closer to the source? And if you find yourself tempted by the unknown, the loosely locked secrets of someone else’s affairs, then ask yourself a question: would it be the end of your world if you just didn’t ask? Just remember, secrets can’t be stopped once they start spreading, and a little curioisty can lead to the end of someone’s world.
We at the Bison stand by our committment to the truth, and we recognize its power both to liberate and to shackle. We hope you do too.
