It is wrong to use the free press as the mouthpiece of an organization.
In the past week, there has been some behind-the-scenes controversy over a submission you will find in today’s Letters to the Editor (see print edition). Our Students’ Administrative Council and the editorial staff of this newspaper have been involved in intense dialogue over how to properly inform our readers of SAC’s position on the current tuition plebiscite. In the course of these discussions, we have had to come to an agreement on what the role of our newspaper is in relation to our student government.
SAC is our governing body. If The Varsity were to include OpEds written by Council representatives, readers could infer that the paper endorses the opinions of these powerful student reps. Obviously, our readers will not generally assume that The Varsity supports the ideologies and viewpoints of the individual writers who grace these pages. Any student at U of T can write for The Varsity, but it is a different story when the writer is a member of student government. In that case, a personal opinion carries additional weight due to the writer’s position of influence, and the distinction between an individual’s private opinion and professional responsibilty to the organization becomes cloudy. This is a dangerous, slippery slope that has produced anxiety for this publication and SAC alike.
At its core, this space is a forum for individual debate and discussion. We will not print OpEds that would turn the section into a mouthpiece for any given campus group. As we tell our writers, the Comment section plays a unique and important role in the paper. Where the News section’s duty is to present objective accounts of events happening around campus and in our world, Comment writers are called to offer opinions and analysis that reflect the biases they bring to the table. The biases-real or imagined-inherent to issues of student politics as discussed by SAC leaders, though, carry an authority that affects our readers, and could turn our forum into a podium or a pulpit.
Letters to the editor, on the other hand, we see as your opportunity to engage in a free-for-all. There, it is appropriate for SAC, as well as any other student organization, to present their united front on issues. There, it is also appropriate to tell us if you think our writers were wrong, if there’s too much litter in Sid Smith, or anything else you can argue in 250 words or less.
A newspaper is not a soapbox. It is not an open platform where anyone can line up to get his or her say. Articles are carefully screened and chosen in an effort to present the campus community with a reputable source of journalism. We hope that our readers will understand and respect our function, and continue to exercise their right to expression either through submitted OpEd content or letters to the editor.
