I think that, perhaps, the term “Letter to the Editor” is misleading. It seems to suggest that such a letter would be intended for Melanie and I, and that its contents would be relevant only to us. As most of you likely know, this is not the case. A letter to the editor is indeed addressed to the Editor or Editors in Chief, but it is submitted for the purpose of publication and, in effect, becomes a letter to the community.
At The College Voice we try – with varying levels of success – to cover stories with thorough research and objective reporting. We attempt to represent all perspectives on a given issue, and do our best to avoid propagating rumors and biased opinions. This does not mean that we do not value such speculation and personal views, only that we cannot present such content as news.
But not all ideas worth spreading are fully developed, and not all speculation is invaluable. As a newspaper, the Voice seeks to provide its readers with answers, but we believe that, as Connecticut College’s only student-run news publication, it is our responsibility to raise questions, too.
Last week, the Voice held a small, round-table discussion with a handful of student-leaders to explore issues, trends and various happenings at Conn. We did not seek to arrive at any definitive conclusions or form impermeable arguments; we only wanted to share thoughts, insight and a healthy dose of gossip, too. By the end of the evening I had over two pages of questions about the subjects we discussed, yet I left with a stronger sense of the attitude and identity of the student body.
A letter to the editor is an opportunity to pose a question. It is an opportunity to express your opinion to the greater college community, regardless of how well founded it might be. We try not to publish articles that convey ignorance or sensationalism, favoritism or prejudice; in an open letter to the editor, you can be an ignorant sensationalist who shows favoritism for prejudice – and we’ll even copyedit it for you!
A letter might never receive (nor warrant, for that matter) a reply. Other letters might result in follow-up articles, and others still might stir vocal reactions on campus and online. Regardless of the public response, though, frequent letters to the editors will help us achieve our goal of representing as many community perspectives as possible. That alone is worth the wild and absurd contributions that we’re looking forward to reading.
