By: OWU Journalism Board
As members of the Ohio Wesleyan Journalism Student Board, we strive to uphold the Journalism Code of Ethics–one of the staples of this code being to report the truth and to minimize harm while doing so. It is never a reporter’s goal to misquote or exploit comments made; in fact, it is the exact opposite. As journalists we strive to understand. The decision to leave students out of the November 16 faculty and staff meeting is something we cannot comprehend.
Based on the precedence set by Verne Edwards, students at Ohio Wesleyan deserve to know what is discussed at faculty and staff in meetings. We understand the right of faculty to issue an executive session, however it must be justified. In this instance, the faculty neglected to conduct such a session yet still denied the entry of students.
True transparency between the university and students is hard enough to come by. It’s imperative that students are not barred from attending the meetings in which their education is discussed. It’s understandable for faculty members to want to be able to speak freely, but students do not need to be excluded for this to occur.
A faculty meeting is news. A faculty meeting in which students are excluded is news. As journalists it is not only our duty, but our passion to cover such events. Those who happen to be subjects of an issue do not have the right to determine whether or not it is newsworthy.