OUR VIEW: Beware: This section houses student opinion

Together, The Utah Statesman staff is comprised of approximately 75 individuals, all of which are drastically different — as humans tend to be. We are married, single, international, Greek, atheist, returned LDS missionaries and alcoholics. We have experienced failure, contentment, loss of loved ones, jealousy, etc. We’ve run marathons, taken drugs, backpacked through Europe, gone to prison, met famous people and received national recognition.

We tell you this because we are tired of hearing phrases such as: “The Statesman is picking on us.” No, we aren’t. Statistically, half of us are on your side when something is published in The Statesman that you do not agree with, especially opinion columns. In fact, we hope the columns we publish cause at least a few negative responses. With these responses come reasoning and clarity on a given topic or issue. Students then re-evaluate certain issues, enhancing their ability to think critically. Strong bias opens up discussion. Opinion pieces without at least some controversy should not be published at all. We gain nothing from these hollow pieces, forgetting their messages moments after setting the newsprint back on the table. Therefore, we are pleased when students show their feathers have been ruffled, because they create dialogue that expands others’ perspectives on the present topic.

It is astounding to see, year after year, that many confuse the “Opinions and Views” section with the “Campus News” section. They are labeled this way for a reason — to clarify that the content running in the news section is newsworthy, and the content running in opinions is not, by any means. For further clarification, though, we’ve created a doodad up on the top-right corner of the “Opinions and Views” page, to ensure our readers that any column that runs does not necessarily coincide with the views of The Statesman. However, the “Our View” does, and we, as an editorial staff, discuss the topics that are presented in this space.

The most respected of news publications find value in opinion sections, including The Washington Post, The New York Times, The Los Angeles Times and The Boston Globe, to name a few. Some of these publications have found need to publish a disclaimer that clarifies their editorials do not express the views of their particular newspaper, but are used to urge well-supported arguments. We have also found this need and sincerely hope USU students will broaden their sometimes slim variety of news sources, and understand that The Statesman is simply following the pathways paved by larger publications.

Though we do not take our columnists opinions as our own, we value their bravery in making bold statements. We value their ability to stand tall next to their perceptions of the world. We also value those who are brave enough to highlight the gaps in our columnists’ opinions. We are not in the business of creating a fake image for this university. The way USU should function is lacquered in opinions. Our goal is to help students assess these opinions for themselves. However, in this process many become frustrated with the newspaper. We embrace this. If we wanted to mask the reality of our higher education experience, we would have worked in public relations.