A Beacon editorial
By The Beacon Editorial Board
There is a place where people from all over the world come together to listen, argue, laugh, play, shout, cry, take a stand and perhaps learn a thing or two: College. It's a whirlpool, spinning and swirling about life-altering ideas, people and experiences. It's hard to think of a better place to find unforgettable stories.
Student newspapers have the privilege of writing those stories down and sharing them with their constantly expanding readership of students, alumni, faculty and staff.
That privilege, of course, comes with its share of responsibility. Tenacity for truth and accuracy should always be demanded of journalists. College communities deserve nothing less.
It may be difficult to distinguish the unique benefits that student newspapers bring to the modern Internet-entrenched individual who is barraged daily by media.
Student newspapers, however, do stand out in their own way. For instance, most of the time, we're less petty than Facebook, more credible than Like-a-little, less depressing than the New York Times and more thorough than Twitter.
Student newspapers provide information to students like no other news source because of their localized perspective. As students, we are constantly gulping down large doses of information on a daily basis. Students read articles and books written by old dead guys or senators or Ph.D.s or Pulitzer Prize winners.
Student journalists might not have fancy letters at the end of their names just yet. But they have the most important credential you could ask for: they are witnesses.
They live and learn right alongside of you. They take the same classes, slave over their homework and have many of the same hopes and fears as you, their reader. That common lens gives them invaluable insight to report about their community better than anyone could.
Student newspapers wear many hats in their communities. The newspaper is a historian, keeping records of events in the community as they unfold. The newspaper is a storyteller, binding the community with common experiences through articles, photos and cartoons. The newspaper is a community organizer, informing students of events and activities to attend. The newspaper is a watchdog, informing the community of important issues and also providing a portal through which students can express their opinions on those issues.
First and foremost, student journalists keep alive the inquisitive spirit of free and responsible discussion that your university community deserves. And they will continue to work late nights, rewrite drafts, track down sources and consume too much caffeine to bring you the scoop – just the way you like it.
