At issue: Editorials are our perspective of campus news.

Our take: Give us a chance, we’re students too.

A new semester means a new editorial board. This year we’re proud to announce that our board is demographically diverse and consists of both new and old staff members. This year’s board includes someone entirely new to the Beacon, someone from news, someone from living arts, and a returning member of last year’s editorial board. A common critique of newspapers and news organizations is the lack of diversity in their staff. We hope by bringing diversity to our editorial board, the students of Emerson will feel assured that we are fairly discussing topical issues.

More than anything, we’re a student newspaper. We’re student-run, student-administered, student-published, and student-edited. We’re limited to the microcosm of Emerson College, but we’re dedicated to searching  for the truth. Sure, there have been moments where we have made mistakes, but even our flaws come from a genuine place. We’re journalists, but we’re also students, and through this process we’re learning. This isn’t new—it’s a reality we’ve acknowledged many times prior—and in our quest for truth and transparency, there may be setbacks. But we address our errors and grow from them. 

The purpose of the editorial is to bring a perspective to the news and issues happening on campus. Although these articles include our opinion, we remain dedicated to upholding professional standards as journalists. When it’s necessary, we include links to our own news stories and outside sources. Our editorials are only written by our editorial board: the editor-in-chief, copy managing editor, and opinion section. The rest of the newsroom is not aware of our stance on the issue we’re writing about, and it doesn’t affect our reporting.

The majority of the newsroom is unaware of what we are writing until it’s published, so it doesn’t make sense to take your frustration out on the rest of the Beacon staff. Don’t close doors on news opportunities—it ends up hurting both you and us.

Bring your issues to the editorial board or write a letter to the editor. As much as we love social media, we might not see your Facebook posts, and it’s not professional. This isn’t the first time we have made this request. We are open to criticism and look forward to hearing your thoughts, positive or negative, this semester.