The Et Cetera recently received an anonymous, hand-written letter from someone claiming to be a student at Eastfield College accusing us of biased reporting and failing to represent everyone on campus. The letter was slipped under our adviser’s office door after she had left for the day, and the author was not seen by staff.
We strive to cover all sides of stories just as much as we strive to give a voice to the thousands of people who work and attend school here.
Our staff is racially diverse, comprises men and women and holds varying beliefs about politics, religion and culture. We keep our viewpoints confined to a clearly marked opinion section.
We cannot publish something if we do not have a credible source to back it up, nor can we speak for someone who is unwilling to speak to us.
We are happy that people read our paper. We are happy to receive criticism so we can be aware of ways to improve our work for future issues. But we cannot improve if we do not know what you think we are doing wrong.
If you think we are not giving you proper representation, contact us. Submit a letter to the editor. Write a guest column. Allow a reporter to interview you.
Join our staff. We want to hear what you have to say. Countless news publications have been accused of bias since the birth of journalism. Some of it is warranted, some of it is not.
Regardless of which category you think The Et Cetera fits into, we do not approve of bias. Reporting should be about delivering the facts to the public in a way that is clear and simple to understand. Prejudice can only twist the truth.
We strive to speak to students and employees from all walks of life. If you want to talk to us, we want to talk to you. Anonymous, vague notes don’t promote discourse.
We invite anyone interested in news, life and arts, sports commentary to join us in delivering accurate and timely news and a voice to Eastfield College.