Olivia Belanger
Administrative Executive Editor
Crae Messer
Managing Executive Editor
On the front page of the Oct. 27, 2016, issue of The Equinox, there was an article about the possible academic restructuring of Keene State College.
Included with the article was a sub-headline that was incorrect, which implied that $5 million was approved for KSC’s Committee to Align Vision and Structure, but this was misleading. The $5 million was actually approved as part of a larger plan from Keene State College to improve their academic vision.
On the afternoon of Oct. 27, 2016, just hours after The Equinox had been distributed, Provost William Seigh sent an e-mail to the campus pointing out this inaccuracy. The Equinox was only made aware of this e-mail after it was sent from a faculty member to the executive editors. It was never sent directly to The Equinox by the Provost. Seigh also said in his e-mail that several points within the body of the article were incorrect. While the sub-headline was inaccurate, the entirety of the article was accurate and all information was properly sourced.
When an inaccuracy occurs, we, The Equinox, hold ourselves accountable and immediately make a correction or clarification in the paper and online. Again, we understand the impact these mistakes can have, but we always own up to them and use these mistakes to better our publication.
In the e-mail from Seigh, which was sent out to Keene State College faculty and staff members, he stated, “I was reminded this morning that The Equinox provides a learning laboratory for students to practice the craft of journalism. While I commend their effort, I encourage us all to read The Equinox through this lens.” We agree that The Equinox should be viewed through a lens. That lens, however, should be the students’ perspective, as they are the audience we represent and serve.
When the almost sixty editors and staff of The Equinox are publicly belittled as a whole, it discourages those who put in an endless amount of time and effort to develop a product and organization that values honesty, compassion and diligence.
Our mission at The Equinox is to be fair, accurate and complete, but it is difficult to do so when we are not allowed access to all of the information we need to produce fair and accurate content.
For example, in the article to which the provost’s email referred, The Equinox reporter was able to contact the President of Plymouth State University, Donald L. Birx, and have a candid, open conversation to gather information on PSU’s cluster system.
However, when The Equinox reporter conducted a phone interview with KSC President Anne Huot on this same topic, the Director of Strategic Communications and Community Relations Kelly Ricaurte was also on the line as a third party, monitoring the interview.
This speaks volumes about the lens through which the administration seems to see student press, which only compounds the difficulties that The Equinox faces when trying to access the necessary information in order to be fair, accurate and complete.
A public institution is not a private corporation and should not be operated as such.
Olivia Belanger can be contacted at obelanger@kscequinox.com
Crae Messer can be contacted at cmesser@kscequinox.com