To our readers: A letter from the editor

As editor in chief of The Se­tonian for this coming academic year, I want to thank you all for reading. Whether you are div­ing into our 16 page publication every Thursday as it comes off the press, or even if this is the first and last time you'll open a copy, your participation means so much. The Setonian encourages feedback from our audience - faculty, administrators, students, parents, strangers on the web, etc.

However, something I often struggle with is the lack of under­standing that rears its ugly head when members of the University community react angrily to our publication on misinformed pre­tenses.

As student journalists, we are not here to "stick it to the man" or per­form our own agenda. We are not to demean adminis­trators or certain stu­dent groups. We are not in the business of unfairly using infor­mation that is actu­ally public by jour­nalistic standards.

If something that is published has a typo, is entirely incorrect or contains another type of error, we as a staff know that it is our jour­nalistic responsibility to correct the error and apologize to anyone involved. If something that is pub­lished is entirely true, no matter how scandalous or controversial, we as a staff will still stand behind it.

The Setonian has published er­rors before, and I certainly cannot promise a year devoid of any slip-ups under my direction. This is a new year, and as is custom, our standards are higher than ever. I am asking that those of you who may hold a grudge against our publication or who do not quite understand the function of a news­paper give us a chance.

Journalism serves many pur­poses. Admittedly, these purposes are not always properly carried out. Verified journalism serves the public's right to know and can be a window for democracy. Even the relatively small audience of Seton Hall University needs journalism to properly function, but it is a two-way process.

That said, I have no apologies for responsible journalism.

Charlotte Lewis is a junior journalism major from Vero­na, NJ. She can be reached at charlotte.lewis@student.shu.edu.