In the past six weeks, this paper has printed a number of extremely controversial opinion pieces; as a result, conversations have been provoked across campus. While controversies can arise from diverse conditions, the resultant discourses are absolutely essential to our intellectual community.
We hope to foster constructive rather than reactionary conversation. All students and community members are welcome to contribute to the discourse with their own voices and opinions. After all, The Lawrentian, our only student-run newspaper, belongs to the entire student body.
Lawrence students may have the desire to take part in journalism, but our curriculum currently lacks any classes in media publication; therefore, The Lawrentian provides the only opportunity on campus for students to practice journalism. Becoming a good journalist is a learning process that often involves making mistakes. The most productive outcome for our journalistic errors is the positive growth of our student writers and editors.
However, we take factual errors very seriously at The Lawrentian. When such errors do occur, we consider it our duty to rectify the situation swiftly and appropriately. Mistakes are opportunities for learning through our collaborative process. We hope that the entire Lawrence community chooses to contribute to that open platform in order to promote constructive discussion.
This paper is not intended to be a one-way street. We are here to start conversations, not end them. Controversial articles should not go unanswered, and your opinions should not go unvoiced. We encourage you to participate in The Lawrentian however you can, whether as a writer, as a photographer or just by sending in a Letter to the Editor. We’ll support you every step of the way, because each Lawrentian deserves the opportunity to have their voice heard.