Spring Break
MAIL CALL
By: John Bolch
Issue date: 2/5/09 Section: Opinion
From John Bolch, Academic Advisor II,General Academic Programs
Kenny - I was appalled as I read the article by Romy Misra in the January 23 issue of The Battalion but even more so when I learned that the Battalion has refused to print the rebuttal written by a colleague here at TAMU. Please take a look at the Society for Professional Journalist website, http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp, in order to familiarize yourself with the basic concepts of journalistic integrity.
Please pay close attention to the preamble which states: The duty of the journalist is [to provide] a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility.
Your paper's reputation, and in turn credibility, precedes it as lackluster and now wholly biased. There are two sides to every story yet you would rather perpetuate an injurious myth and possibly dissuade your fellow Aggies from seeking the aid of faculty and staff by instigating this propagandist based theory that the over 700 faculty and staff advisors on campus will ALL give poor advice.
The true villain of this story is of course you and your newspaper. The Aggie code states: Aggies do not lie, cheat or steal. By refusing to print the rebuttal you are breaking every aspect of the code and you should be ashamed to call yourself an Aggie. You are lying to your fellow Aggies by providing half truths - cheating them out of an opportunity to connect with a staff member at such a large university and by stealing there ability to believe in a system that has been put in place to help them; by doing this you, and The Battalion, put thousands of students at risk to experience just what your article said it hoped to avoid.
Bad advice comes from somewhere - the day you printed the article by Ms. Misra, the bad advise came from you and your office.
Kenny - I was appalled as I read the article by Romy Misra in the January 23 issue of The Battalion but even more so when I learned that the Battalion has refused to print the rebuttal written by a colleague here at TAMU. Please take a look at the Society for Professional Journalist website, http://www.spj.org/ethicscode.asp, in order to familiarize yourself with the basic concepts of journalistic integrity.
Please pay close attention to the preamble which states: The duty of the journalist is [to provide] a fair and comprehensive account of events and issues. Conscientious journalists from all media and specialties strive to serve the public with thoroughness and honesty. Professional integrity is the cornerstone of a journalist's credibility.
Your paper's reputation, and in turn credibility, precedes it as lackluster and now wholly biased. There are two sides to every story yet you would rather perpetuate an injurious myth and possibly dissuade your fellow Aggies from seeking the aid of faculty and staff by instigating this propagandist based theory that the over 700 faculty and staff advisors on campus will ALL give poor advice.
The true villain of this story is of course you and your newspaper. The Aggie code states: Aggies do not lie, cheat or steal. By refusing to print the rebuttal you are breaking every aspect of the code and you should be ashamed to call yourself an Aggie. You are lying to your fellow Aggies by providing half truths - cheating them out of an opportunity to connect with a staff member at such a large university and by stealing there ability to believe in a system that has been put in place to help them; by doing this you, and The Battalion, put thousands of students at risk to experience just what your article said it hoped to avoid.
Bad advice comes from somewhere - the day you printed the article by Ms. Misra, the bad advise came from you and your office.
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