The Daily Campus Editorial Board endorsed three candidates on Tuesday in the Student Body Officer elections. Yesterday we published a letter from junior Eric Park, who voiced his opposition to the practice and outlined several issues. Park’s letter raises a good question: Should the Editorial Board endorse candidates in Student Senate elections?
Park wrote that he felt it was “irresponsible for The Daily Campus editorial board to advertise their own opinions.” He wrote that the Editorial Board was not elected to be the voice of the student body and that members’ relationships with the candidates or those close to candidates affected the endorsements, consciously or unconsciously.
To find the answers, I asked some staff members for their opinions.
Opinion editor Nathaniel French, who is a member of the Editorial Board, disagreed with Park’s assessment that the Editorial Board should not endorse candidates:
“It is a long-standing tradition for newspapers to endorse candidates in local and national elections. The editorial board’s recommendations are just that–recommendations–and aren’t intended as a final statement on the issue,” he said.
Online Editor Jessica Huseman agreed. Huseman is also a member of the Editorial Board, although she recused herself from all aspects of the endorsement process because she was in Student Senate and had a personal relationship with one of the candidates.
“The function of the editorial board is to issue opinions on behalf of the newspaper,” she said. “Not issuing an opinion in student body elections, I feel, would be a waste of the board.”
Layout editor Josh Parr does not think the paper should endorse candidates. Parr is not a member of the Editorial Board.
“It is naive of us to think that college students need our help in deciding who to vote for,” he said. “At most we must serve as an outlet describing all candidate platforms so that our readers may make an informed decision, not so that we tell them who to vote for.”
Chief Copy Editor Lauren Smart echoed Parr’s statements. Smart is not a member of the Editorial Board.
“I feel the job of the newspaper is to present readers with facts about candidates, so they can make their own decision. There are already plenty of lobbyists out there.”
French is right. Look in any major newspaper and you’ll find an editorial board. In every election, they endorse candidates.
The Daily Campus as a whole seeks to emulate these professional papers, which is why we have an editorial board.
“It is our job to consider the positions and leadership abilities of the candidates and make a fair and objective decision,” French said. “We hope in this way to give SMU students a context and point of view to consider as they decide whom to vote for.”
It was the goal of the Editorial Board to provide our points of view. But Parr and Smart are right as well: the news section should provide the platforms of candidates. We do so for the Student Body Officer candidates today on the front page.
Park is correct to note that the student body does not elect the members of the Editorial Board to serve as the voice of the students. But that is because the Editorial Board serves as the voice of the newspaper. Members are chosen from the paper’s staff to serve on the Board to represent the paper.
I would like to note that the paper itself does provide a public forum for anyone on campus to voice their opinions through the Opinion page. This space is available for any SMU student, staff or faculty member.
Was the Board’s opinion affected by relationships with the candidates? It has always been the policy of the Editorial Board for members to recuse themselves from editorials (and any deliberations) when there is a conflict of interest. The process was no different for our endorsements.
I, as Editor in Chief, have no qualms about the recent endorsements by the Editorial Board and the Board’s role in giving the opinion of the newspaper.
Meredith Shamburger is a junior journalism major. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].
