THIS YEAR Student Council will spend or allocate over $665,000. How do I know? Not from The Cavalier Daily. In fact, the News page has yet to use the word “budget” in an article about Student Council this entire year, even though Student Council recently approved a $90,000 operating budget.
The Cavalier Daily has done a poor job of covering Student Council this year and two faults are especially glaring. First, the topics covered are seldom the most important issues facing Council. Second, critics of Student Council are seldom included in the news articles. These are fatal flaws when it comes to covering a democratic institution that controls well over half a million dollars of student money. And because The Cavalier Daily is the only news organization covering Council, these faults must be remedied, and soon.
The omission of the gargantuan budget from any coverage is just one of the many issues missed in the weekly news coverage of Council’s doings. In an interview, Cavalier Daily News Editor Tom Madrecki said he was not aware that the budget had been passed, in part because, although Student Council uses occasional press releases, he has yet to receive one this year. What else did we miss because of this breakdown in communication? Student Council’s Free Rita’s Day is near the top of the list of noteworthy omissions. This day-long give-away cost students roughly $1,800, but apparently didn’t warrant a word of coverage in students’ primary news source. The same is true of the appropriations process, through which Student Council allocated $65,000 of student funds in one day, without even a sentence of mention in the newspaper.
Sometimes, to be fair, the News page does pick the right story. On August 27, Student Council’s announcement of its signature initiative for the year, the University Unity Project, was front page news. It was also covered in the Editorial Board’s lead editorial and in a guest viewpoint piece. However, this coverage was also problematic. Student Council President Matt Schrimper and Project Committee Chair Rob Atkinson, the lead architechts of the project were the authors of the guest viewpoint article on the Opinion page that day. They were also the only two people quoted in the news article about the project’s unveiling. Atkinson and Schrimper already had an opportunity to express their opinion that day. It should be the News page’s duty to seek out other, preferably dissenting, voices. As Student Council Vice President of Administration John Nelson admits, “it is important for the newspaper coverage to critique us.” Critique is impossible when dissident voices are never heard.
While not all Student Council coverage is quite this egregious, this is far from the exception. Most articles on Council’s projects and events include no perspectives from those who do not attend their weekly meeting. There have been no quotes from students who are not Student Council members included in any of this year’s weekly Student Council articles. Outside voices, and critical ones, are missing and sorely needed.
Comprehensive coverage of Student Council is essential for two reasons. First, this organization controls an incredible amount of money allocated to students and spent on our behalf. We need oversight to ensure that our money is being used wisely. Secondly, Student Council is a democratic organization. In February we will be asked to elect those who will become our new representatives. As a third-year, Schrimper will be able to run for reelection this spring. Without quality reporting about Student Council, how will we be able to evaluate his performance and decide if we should grant him a second term?
There are obvious fixes for these problems. First, Student Council should be covered more than just once a week and by more than just the one reporter currently assigned to the task. Second, the main topic of the post-meeting article should be decided and investigated in advance of the actual meeting. Currently, the article is due just hours after Student Council’s weekly meeting ends and the time crunch can prevent reporters from finding an array of differing voices with different opinions. Student Council’s agenda is usually set on Monday, and they should send it to The Cavalier Daily’s News editors, so that relevant topics can be researched and interviews can be conducted in advance.
Lastly, reporters should speak with those affected by Council’s actions, not just those who decide those actions. Students who disagree with Council should make their views heard by attending the weekly Council meeting and speaking with the Cavalier Daily reporter. At election time, there is widespread student belief that Council doesn’t do anything. To find and fix Student Council’s flaws, we must first acknowledge those in The Cavalier Daily’s coverage.
Isaac Wood is a Cavalier Daily Viewpoint Writer.
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