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DraftCandidate

Page history last edited by PBworks 15 years, 8 months ago

Go back to the FrontPage.

 

Todd wrote an excellent draft, on which the following letter is based. Please feel free to continue to offer revisions and comments. Also start adding your names & emails at the bottom if you agree - in the form "Evan Donovan '06 - outofegypt at gmail.com" (Note that if you put your email address just as you would regularly type it in, you run the risk of it being snagged by spam bots. That's what I suggested this format.)

 

UPDATE: Though the original wording of this letter applies more to alumni, and we don't have time to write a separate letter for current students between now and mid-day Monday, some students have asked if they could sign. Thus, I have separated the lists of names. Sign on the alumni list if you have already graduated, on the student list otherwise.

 

Dear President Nielson:

 

Over the past few years, changes in Covenant policy have sparked heated responses from a number of students and alumni. At times students and alumni have been guilty of judging too quickly, and thus have not given the administration's arguments for change a fair hearing. This is unfortunate.

 

We want to respond graciously to the current decision to place ultimate authority over the content of the Bagpipe with a faculty advisor. However, we cannot remain silent in the face of such a dramatic and unexpected change in policy. We are concerned that this decision will only further widen the communications gap between the administration and the population which it seeks to serve.

 

It has been a long-honored right of the student editors of the Bagpipe to choose their own staff and to publish whatever article they see fit for public distribution. Thankfully, the student editor has never been asked to publish articles with the intent of protecting the "interests of the college," but has instead been free to publish the honest expression of student journalists, even when that expression conflicts with the college's official positions.

 

Bagpipe editors have sometimes exercised their freedom irresponsibly. However, learning cannot occur unless students are allowed to make mistakes. The role of the faculty advisor in the production of the Bagpipe should be to offer suggestions and guidance on journalistic ethics, not to determine whether content should be published. Students need the freedom to fail if they are ever to succeed, and they need this to be a true freedom in which they are truly responsible for the articles they publish.

 

In giving a staff or faculty advisor the right to "delay publication and distribution" of the Bagpipe "when necessary," the college has essentially claimed that it, not the students, has final editorial authority. We do not believe this action can be justified. There have been attempts by the administration to justify this decision by suggesting that the Bagpipe staff needs "mentoring oversight" to make sure the paper is free of grammatical and spelling errors, is factually accurate, reflects a Christian World and Life view, and does not contain what the college deems to be "inappropriate materials."

 

We do not believe a staff or faculty advisor is inherently more capable of addressing these matters than a student editor. Students are not the only ones who can make grammatical and spelling errors. Furthermore, the factual content of an article, its editorial stance, and whether it constitutes "inappropriate material," are all matters of debate. In fact, these are precisely the issues that the press is called to investigate.

 

The Bagpipe is, and should remain, a student newspaper - both as written and as edited. If it is to be trusted by its audience, which is primarily the student body, it should not be seen as an official organ of the administration, but rather as an independent body which can act as a watchdog for the interests of students at large. For this reason, we believe the student editor - not a faculty or staff advisor - should have the final authority to decide whether articles are accurate and appropriate prior to their publication.

 

Bagpipe staff have traditionally welcomed and respected the opinions of faculty and staff. If anyone believed themselves to be misrepresented in an article, the editors have almost always been willing both to print letters of response and to issue corrections whenever necessary.

 

Furthermore, the Bagpipe has always had an advisor who, while protecting the student editor's final authority, has served to offer "mentoring oversight" where needed - not under compulsion, but freely and generously. We are sorry that the most recent advisor has been forced to resign from this position. While we do not know private details, we suspect it was because he was not willing to act as a proxy for the administration and take final editorial control from the hands of the students.

 

We believe that the administration's actions may be motivated by a confusion between the Bagpipe's news reportage and its editorial sections, as well as by offense at the satire printed each April's Fools Day in the Windbag. However, it is the common practice of newspapers not only to report on the news, but also to offer their own editorial comment on it. As long as editorials and satire are identifiable as such, students should be free to print such materials.

 

Ultimately, we do not believe this policy change is an issue of "mentoring oversight." It is an issue of control. By this new policy, final control has been taken from the students and given to the administration. And we feel this is wrong.

 

We, the alumni, ask the administration to immediately overturn this policy and to grant the student editor of the Bagpipe the final right to decide when the Bagpipe will be published and what content it will contain.

 

If this freedom is granted, the student editor could make decisions that would harm the reputation of both the newspaper and of the college. And yet the administration needs to take this risk, because it needs to trust its students. Covenant's students have always thrived insofar as academic freedom and institutional trust have been valued and encouraged.

 

Covenant students need to know that the administration trusts them enough to let the faculty proclaim the truth and to let the students work out the implications for their Christian calling. Students need to learn responsibility, and so they must be treated as responsible. Students need the right to express themselves and to speak out in a forum that will print their opinions without fear or favor.

 

To truly support its students, Covenant's administration must protect their freedom of speech. The student newspaper is one of the chief forums in which this right is exercised. A college that promotes the work of a vital and interesting student newspaper offers not only great preparation for citizenship, but also demonstrates to a skeptical world that liberty and orthodoxy can coexist.

 

Therefore, we believe the college must uphold student editorial control at the Bagpipe and at all student publications. To do otherwise would be truly unfortunate for the interests of students, alumni, and administration alike.

 

Sincerely,

 

Alumni:

Evan Donovan '06 - outofegypt at gmail.com

Jonathan Crabb '00 - jcrabb at gmail.com

Todd Willison '05- ttwillison at gmail.com

Heidi Kaufmann '05 - hjkaufmann at gmail.com

Laura Kaufmann '05 - laurakaufmann at gmail.com

Anna Kaufmann '05 - ajkbanana at gmail.com

Matthew Gillikin '06 - matthew.t.gillikin at gmail.com

Mary Kathryn Christiansen '85 - mkcapc at gmail.com

Matt Barker '85 - mwbarker at charter.net

Sarah Funke '04 - funke.sarah at gmail.com

Lisa Roerdink '01 - aussie_105 at hotmail dot com

Lesley Davenport '97 - Leyphan5 at yahoo.com

Kevin Courter '02- kdcourter at gmail.com

Mason Wolf '02 - masonswolf at gmail dot com

Brendon Keene '07 - xikorolkel at gmail dot com

Linnea Minich '05 - linneaminich at gmail.com

Tanya Thomas '95 - tanya at thethomasweb.com

John Thomas '96 - john at thethomasweb.com

Ike Reeder '97 - ike.reeder at gmail.com

Natalie Lodico '07 - lodico.ne at gmail.com

Laura Neale '05 - laura.neale at gmail.com

Noel Weichbrodt '04 - noel at weichbrodt.org

Elissa Weichbrodt '04 - elissa at weichbrodt.org

Krissy Smith '06 - Nuanda18 at aol.com

David A. Fidati '06 - gazolfi at aim.com

Kathryn E. Brightbill '03 - kathrynelizabeth at gmail.com

Lauri Moyle '05 - lauri.moyle at gmail dot com

Robert Heiskell '04 - robheiskell at hotmail dot com

Jeremy McLellan '07 - jeremy.mclellan at gmail.com

Jennifer Kornman '07 - jkornman at gmail.com

Jasmine Cox '06 - yoyoyemen at gmail.com

Sara Blackman - elsbeth_barnett at yahoo.com

Carrie Cardona '04 - cardona.carrie at gmail.com

Keri Lawrence '05 - keri.deanna.lawrence at gmail.com

John Ottinger III '02 - john.ottinger at gmail.com

Matthew Allison '04 - malliso1 at nd.edu

Adam Belz '06 - adambelz at gmail.com

Kevin Eves '06 - kaeves at gmail dot com

Sean Flynn '03 - aeroflynn7 at gmail.com

Ben Hubbard '06 - bhubbard at covenant.edu

Courtney Withington '05 - cwithington at gmail.com

Amelia Little '07 - amelialit at gmail.com

Nicole Ellis '02 - nikiellis at gmail.com

Richard Ellis '77 - dellis at newhopeopc.org

Tom Bingham '88 - tombingham at mac.com

Jonathan Davis '00 - JMDaddress at hotmail dot com

Brian Carlisle '00 - brianandscharlie@hotmail.com

Cameron Moran '04 - camamoran at gmail.com

Chris Ammons '01 - info at chrimmons.com

Andy Ross '01 - rosser29 at gmail.com

Thomas Ellis '01 - thomas.wesley.ellis at gmail.com

Deborah Swanson '73 - debswanson at bellsouth.net

Joel Swanson '03 - jkepler at gmail.com

Jonathan Hastings '00 - jbhast at myletterbox.net

Gayle Ellis '76 - ellis.gayle at gmail.com

Mark Slavovsky '04 - mark_slav@hotmail.com

Nicholas Pappas '05 - nick at radicand dot org

Keri McGovern '06 - keri.mcgovern at gmail.com

Hannah Warren '03- warrenha at mail.etsu.edu

Marion Pickett '02 - Marion654 at yahoo.com

Ian Hard '06 - iangehard at gmail.com

Aaron Collier '04 - aaroncollier05@comcast.net

Sarah Hopson '02 - sjhopson at gmail.com

Stephanie Vander Lugt '07 - steph.vanderlugt@gmail.com

Phillip Harvey '05 - phillip.n.harvey at gmail.com

Chris Gosey '01 - cgosey at gmail.com

Joy Lynne Gosey '02 - joylynneparker at hotmail.com

Robert Rowton '95 - robertrowton at yahoo.com

Nathan Carlson '97 - nathanmcarlson -at- gmail.com

Kara Patterson '99 karagriffith at hotmail.com

 

Current Students:

Libby Mallory '08 - mallory at covenant.edu

Stuart Allen '08 - stuace1 at gmail.com

Charity Everett '08 - cg.everett at gmail.com

Brian Philbrook '10 - brianphilbrook at gmail.com

Justin Johns '10- jujohns at covenant.edu

Noah Barnett '08 - nbarnett at covenant.edu

Angela Beall '08 - beall at covenant.edu

Bonny Beth Elwell '08 - bonnybonnybeth at gmail.com

Jonathan Barnes '08 - barnes at covenant.edu

Jonathan Taylor '09 - jtaylor at covenant.edu

Seth Morgan '09 - smorgan at covenant.edu

Aaron Bond '07 - bond at covenant.edu

Enoch Elwell '10 - enochelwell at yahoo.com

Scott Steere '09 - cellardoor11 at gmail.com

Stephanie K. White '07- skwhite at covenant.edu

Zach McElrath '10 - zmcelrath at covenant dot edu

Heather E. Carrillo '08 - carrillo at covenant.edu

Matthew L. Brown '08 - mbrown at covenant.edu

Addis Alemayehu '09 - aalemayehu at covenant.edu

Katie Ellis '10- kellis at covenant.edu

Lauren Hartzell ['10-lhartzell@covenant.edu|'10 - lhartzell@covenant.edu]

Amy Sue Austin '09 - aaustin at covenant.edu

Stephanie Heaney '08- heaney at covenant.edu

Ben Johnson '09-bejohnson at covenant.edu

Ross Barnard '08 - barnard at covenant.edu

Lauren King '08 - lking at covenant dot edu

David White '09 - dmwhite at covenant.edu

Tommy McElrath '11 - tmcelrath at covenant.edu

Danica Wolfe '09 - dwolfe at covenant.edu

Ben VanderHart '10 - bvanderhart at covenant.edu

Amy Marshall '09 - amarshall at covenant.edu

Adam Carter '09 - carter at covenant.edu

Mary Ann Twitty '09 - mtwitty at covenant.edu

Matthew Baddorf '10 - mbaddorf at covenant.edu

David Fesperman '11 - dfesperman@covenant.edu

Melanie Coiner '10 - mcoiner at covenant.edu

Caleb White '11 - cwhite at covenant.edu

Shelmun Dashan '10 - sdashan at covenant.edu

William McMahan '08 - mcmahan at covenant.edu

Daniel Kelley, '10 -dakelley at covenant.edu

Jim Harris, '10 - jiharris at covenant.edu

 

Former Students:

Christopher Ottinger '05,'06 - warsofwords at gmail.com

Thomas Kennedy '03-'05 - thomas.m.kennedy at gmail.com

 

Comments (13)

Anonymous said

at 12:06 pm on Aug 26, 2007

Should something be added about reinstating Foreman as faculty advisor?

Anonymous said

at 1:58 pm on Aug 26, 2007

Not sure. What does everyone else think?

Todd, did you assume that he would come back on board if they rolled the policy back?

In any case, I'm hoping that this letter is just the beginning of opening a dialogue, so that we can talk with the admin about what to do in re: the Bagpipe in the coming weeks.

Anonymous said

at 3:30 pm on Aug 26, 2007

I think Foreman's role is a separate issue. Is anyone arguing that the administration has no right to appoint/remove/replace the advisor? At issue here is what power an advisor wields on behalf of the administration in his relationship with student publications/performances, not the administration's discretion about who that advisor will be.

Anonymous said

at 7:45 pm on Aug 26, 2007

That is the central point, in my opinion.

I'm not sure whether the administration should have the right to select who the advisor is. I would prefer if faculty and administration remain separate; that would be in keeping with the principle of academic freedom.

Obviously, there are many issues which we could touch upon here. However, I believe our petition will stand the best chance of being heard if it is focused on the editorial power of the advisor, and, behind the advisor, of the administration.

Anonymous said

at 8:38 pm on Aug 26, 2007

I hear that. Need to be realistic about this.

Anonymous said

at 10:32 pm on Aug 27, 2007

Where are all the old-school alumni? With the exception of Matt Barker, they seem to be absent. I think the letter will be much more effective once we have expressions of support from a larger cross-section of Covenant's grads. Any thoughts on how to find them and let them know what's going on?

Anonymous said

at 11:56 pm on Aug 27, 2007

V. true. I guess we'll have to go with this for now. But I think that, if it becomes necessary, we will be able to reach them.

Anonymous said

at 10:04 pm on Aug 28, 2007

Not that many "old school" (that's me? heh) alumni pay much attention. That's not apathy, that's life. The pattern I see is that after graduation, you may pay close attention to Covenant while you still have friends there, or until you have kids. Once you have kids growing up, your focus is on their school rather than your alma mater. In a few years, if your high-schooler gets interested in Covenant, then you may too, to see what's going on. Once your kid is there, you might monitor, but you don't want to be too involved--it's their time, not yours. Once they graduate, you're old enough to feel pretty detached. I'm around here in part because I reconnected with the college by designing The View for several years. Now, my oldest daughter is planning to attend next Fall. Plus, I grew up at Covenant (dad and uncle both taught there) and also married a Chattanooga girl, so I have a special interest.

Anonymous said

at 8:57 pm on Aug 29, 2007

Perhaps some "teeth" in the proposal might be useful. Give them something more than our displeasure to chew on. I think we could say something like "if this policy doesn't change we would be strongly disinclined to contribute financially to Covenant or recommend Covenant to students." This isn't an oath not to give (so more moderate people can still feel comfortable signing) but it let't them know how strongly we feel about this.

Anonymous said

at 9:58 am on Aug 31, 2007

In reference to old-school alumni involvement, I believe that many of them are interested. Let's not make the assumption that the alumni won't care. Rather, how can they be reached? I told my parents, both of them signed, and now they're planning to e-mail some of their classmates. It's true that they aren't necessarily in the blogosphere or checking Covenant policy changes regularly, but many of them have for many years been living out the values of gospel-centered thinking, intellectual freedom, and Reformed thought that they first loved Covenant for. Is there a way to even use the Scots Alumni page to get the word out? I certainly like the irony of that approach.

Anonymous said

at 6:46 pm on Sep 1, 2007

I put a new thread on the Scots Alumni forum page. Otherwise, it's up to alumni to email old friends, a tedious but grassroots approach. The list of signers is growing steadily. How long will we leave up this letter for people to sign?

Anonymous said

at 1:02 am on Oct 29, 2007

I suggest too that you add to the letter that the job of the Student Senate is to also provide oversight over student organizations. The Student Senate has an advisor who has no control over the proceedings, but can certainly provide advice at any time. If a Bagpipe Editor gets so far out of line that removal is appropriate, that is a matter for the Student Senate. Unless of course things have changed at the college so dramatically that this is no longer the case. But, during the 4 years I served on the Senate this would have been the case. I totally agree the the Bagpipe should have an advisor, to give advice of course, but that editorial decisions should always remain with the student staff. By the way ... I heard about your effort through the Scots Alumni thread.

Evan Donovan said

at 8:41 am on Aug 16, 2008

Robert:
"I suggest too that you add to the letter that the job of the Student Senate is to also provide oversight over student organizations. The Student Senate has an advisor who has no control over the proceedings, but can certainly provide advice at any time. If a Bagpipe Editor gets so far out of line that removal is appropriate, that is a matter for the Student Senate...I totally agree the the Bagpipe should have an advisor, to give advice of course, but that editorial decisions should always remain with the student staff."

A year later, this still sounds completely reasonable. Hopefully, the administration would agree with this position. I'll have to see, as the next academic year begins, if I can find out whether they do.

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