I'LL ADMIT that lead editorials urging readers to vote for particular candidates make me nervous. I have no problem with the system used in picking such candidates and applaud the use of face-to-face interviews since these are also useful in framing campaign statements for news articles.
What is more, I also think The Cavalier Daily staff does a good job presenting candidates and issues in its "Spring Elections" section (see last Thursday's paper if you missed it).
Why, then, do I have a problem? First, I dislike the fact that certain races aren't covered at all in either the elections section or the lead edits. This leads me to wonder whether the lead edits follow the news in covering those races that are most contested or if the news is following the interests of the Managing Board. This is even harder to judge since the edits come out two days before the elections coverage. Why aren't all of the candidates' views given?
Second, I am wary of the general practice of allowing the views of one party to go unchallenged in the newspaper, especially when that view is supported by the Managing Board of the paper itself. No other columns focused on particular candidates for election. They all focused on either University-wide issues or other general concerns.
Since no other voices are heard for or against the candidates within the paper itself, I question the judgment of taking sides in the lead edits. Perhaps a better choice in the future would be to set up an election page online where the opinions of the staff could be presented along with a bulletin board open to the entire University community.
Minority Viewpoints in the News
Does African-American Affairs Dean M. Rick Turner have his own reporter or just a red-telephone hotline connecting his every spoken word to the front page of The Cavalier Daily? Turner himself noted in Thursday's inevitable front-page article on using race in the admissions process that "African-Americans are the most apathetic group on Grounds." Why, then, given that this issue is not apparently one of great concern to University students, does the paper persist in bringing it up and continuously quoting only one source in doing so? Last time I checked, there was more than one minority group on Grounds - why aren't their views covered? Do they have to depend on guardian angels to present their opinions since so much of the staff's attention is focused in Dean Turner's direction?
Defining the Model Science Article
Thursday's "Health & Science" page featured an interesting story on expected future links between computer modeling and genetics. Tracy Barger did a good job of explaining computer-based genetic models in fairly clear terms and, while more could have been said about the benefit of such technology, I have no quarrel with the article's content.
I do have questions, however, regarding the article's sources. Science writing differs from other featured areas in the news by requiring not only cited quotes, but also explanations of the references themselves.
Apparently the chief source for the article was a talk given by MIT professor Evelyn Fox Keller. Within the article itself, however, it often is not clear whether the information presented is Prof. Keller's opinion - in which case the headline should have noted that Keller's views were being given - or are accepted by the scientific community as general fact.
Ms. Barger obviously attempted to research her article well. She quotes from other sources at the University - although, again, it isn't clear whether these quotes stem from direct questioning or are pulled from discussion at Prof. Keller's talk. In the future, science features would benefit from the application of certain guidelines, including explanations on the acceptance of research or technology by other scientists and references to sources readers can consult for further information.
Expanding ACC Coverage in Sports
I realize that the space allocated to the Sports section is often limited to one page and generally believe that the Sports staff does an admirable job covering and presenting University sporting events. After all, U.Va. sports is one area where there is always something to report and often, no doubt, there simply is too much to talk about to spend valuable space covering results from all of the teams or from other ACC schools.
Nonetheless, I still think that better use can be made of the Sports page. First, as I have mentioned before, all scores from all teams aren't reported. This oversight could easily and space-consciously be resolved by printing a column of sports results on the side of the page or in a block at the bottom. At the very least, such scores should be available on the Sports page online, where space is not an issue.
Second, as readers have noted, articles rarely venture to discuss the rest of the ACC. Once again, I realize that space is an issue, but the following reader's suggestion seems like a good solution: "How about a score summary box of important ACC matchups? With basketball and football, you could list every game. But if a high-ranked team is upset in lacrosse or field hockey or whatever, it might make such a score box as well." Again, such boxes should at least be accessible online.
What would you like to see in The Cavalier Daily? Send your comments to me at Ombudsman@CavalierDaily.com.
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