August Creter
Copy Editor
Over the recent months and years, Tech’s Oracle newspaper has been a catalyst for campus-centered news that other local publications may avoid.
Filling such a role, no matter the publication, can lead to potential difficulties between said publications and their targets. This poses the question, do students have a desire to know the behind-the-scenes chaos of their campus, and does it benefit the students to know how their campus functions?
“If I’m going to be paying my money to an institution and consistently repping their merchandise, I want to know that there are ethical decisions being made behind closed doors,” Madelyn Lamb, a junior Business major at Tech, said. “Decisions that are made for the betterment of students and faculty.”
Jonathan Aldrich, junior Sports Management major, agreed with Lamb’s assertions. Aldrich said about students’ wanting to know the decisions being made on campus, “…being a student at the school, everyone should want to know the backbone of what is going on. Some things you want to know more than others, but either way it is important.”
Both Lamb and Aldrich are periodical Oracle-readers and appreciate the organization’s aptness for honesty and clarity.
Some may argue that students worrying about administration’s choices could be personally-overbearing, but Lamb assured that “it is the same as anything else going on in any other aspect of life. When you are in class you are there to learn.”
This is only distracting if the student’s professor is involved in whatever news is being broken on campus. “Sometimes you can sit in class and be mad that something’s going on, especially if your professor is part of the problem, but other than that it does not affect my attention span in the classroom,” Lamb said.
In searching for the correct balance of how much a student should know about the functionality of their campus, Aldrich said “I think students should know. I feel like everyone should at least know what is going on. Some things you could go more into-detail, but there should be a healthy balance of knowing and not knowing something.”
The greatest concern from students seems to be that, with how much we individually pay for an education, many of the choices are behind the student’s back, assuming they either do not care or are too dumb to pay attention.
“I think it’s disappointing to see good people [get fired] for things they are not in charge of, and I think it is the Oracle’s job to report that and bring it to everyone’s notice,” Lamb said.
A journalist’s job is to give the truth to the world. At times, truth is scary and reveals an evil from which we would rather hide. But it is necessary to share that truth. It often leaves a bad taste in the mouth of readers, but as journalists, we are responsible to paint a picture of the whole truth.
“It is also the students’ job to hear not only the good news, but the bad news, because they need to know what is going on with where their money is going and what they are representing. We must be on the same page.”
An important role of student journalists is often ignored because of the lack of experience behind our belts, but it is important that collegiate media exists because we can understand the emotions of the student body, serving as a small part of the whole student body.
Students’ fees pay the salaries of those making decisions for them, so it only makes sense for these students to be made aware of the decisions affecting their studious experience. Knowledge is power, and you can only find true knowledge when you are willing to search it out, ask questions, and make your voice heard.
