By Christina Moran '07
When I applied to be editor in chief a year ago, I cited service to the campus community as one of my top motivations. Although my claim probably sounded insincere, I truly believed - and still do believe - in newspapers' vital role of informing and enlightening its readers.Unfortunately, however, our staff has encountered several obstacles to this goal. We have faced difficulty in obtaining important information that we believe is in the community's best interest to know from a number of administrators. One current example is our relationship with Harold Burke-Sivers, director of Public Safety.In the past, Burke-Sivers has been very accessible to Beacon reporters. We have sought his comment frequently because he is directly responsible for the safety of students, faculty, staff and campus visitors.In February, however, The Beacon decided to publish a story about how Public Safety was considering the purchase of tasers. Burke-Sivers requested that we not publish the story, even though he publicized the idea at an ASUP Senate meeting that was open to all UP students. Due to the potential impact on students, The Beacon decided the story merited publication.Burke-Sivers also refused to be interviewed for the story, and has been unavailable for official comment since its publication, despite repeated attempts to contact him in person, and via phone and e-mail about a number of different stories.Shortly after this incident, The Beacon received word that a DUI may have occurred on campus. I e-mailed and attempted to phone Burke-Sivers requesting that he either confirm or deny that such an incident took place. I did not request specific information such as a name, year in school, major, place of residence, or any other personally identifiable details. More than a week later, Burke-Sivers had still not responded to my request, and so I was forced to send him a formal letter, to which he promptly responded in kind. He explained that although someone was approached by Public Safety under suspicion of DUI, no crime was determined to have occurred.Coupled with the incident of the taser story, this slow response to our simple, routine request raises suspicions about Public Safety's transparency.In his 13 years at UP, communication professor Michael Mulcrone, who teaches many journalism classes as well as Communication Law, has observed "a bunch of little episodes" where the administration has been less-than-forthcoming with information that has the potential to damage the University's reputation."Most of all of this is about concern for public image," Mulcrone said. Although UP is a private institution, and is therefore not lawfully required to publicize as much information as public universities, it ought to provide a forum for open debate and discussion. "If you can't have free flow of information and ideas on a college campus, where the hell can you?" Mulcrone said.Indeed, college campuses ought to be a place where the "marketplace of ideas" theory flourishes, a place where students are able to critically evaluate ideas for themselves. And students should have access to the information that is needed to either approve of or scrutinize the actions of university officials.Burke-Sivers' failure to respond to simple requests for information is not only frustrating, it raises concern about his accountability to the UP community. His actions are especially disconcerting because, as Public Safety director, he is responsible for the well being of students, faculty, staff and visitors.When I e-mailed Burke-Sivers last week to request a phone or in-person interview about his relationship with The Beacon, he responded via e-mail: "I truly believe you don't care what I have to say. You will print what you want regardless."This shocked me because The Beacon has made a diligent effort this year to build and improve our relationship with campus officials. We've striven for balance and fairness in every story and every issue.And we take feedback - both positive and negative - very seriously. As is printed every week in the Opinions section, The Beacon always welcomes criticism from readers in the forms of letters to the editor. Phone calls and e-mails are also welcome. Burke-Sivers, however, has failed to formally contact me or any member of my staff with specific criticism of our work.Although I've used The Beacon's relationship with Burke-Sivers as an example of reticence on the part of administrators to operate in the sunshine, this problem is not isolated. It is my hope that, going forward, all University officials will recognize the extreme importance of giving The Beacon access to information that concerns students' well being, when legal to do so.Certainly, we are students, and will make mistakes. But we've made significant improvements in terms of coverage, accuracy and professionalism that have been recognized by various members of the university community. We've also already received 13 awards, including Best Section and Best News Section, in the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association (ONPA) 2008 Collegiate Newspaper Contest, and the ONPA has yet to announce the winners of all the contest's categories.To not be respected for our improvement and honest efforts to build a positive reputation on this campus is extremely disappointing. Even more upsetting, however, is the fact that my initial goal of service to the UP community has been severely compromised.
Caitlin Moran is Editor in Chief of The Beacon.
