The Cavalier Daily published a lead editorial March 4 endorsing Alex Solomon and Will Bane for the positions of Honor Committee chair and University Judiciary Committee chair, respectively. This decision triggered a number of negative responses from University community members, most notably because the election period had not yet concluded for three of the University's schools - Education, Batten and Medical. The discussion that resulted from this criticism has been valuable, providing the editors with an opportunity to evaluate our endorsement procedures. We take full responsibility for the timing of the editorial, which was undoubtedly inappropriate. We want to ensure students, however, that the Managing Board gathered extensive information before making its selections, and we did not exclude any candidate before reaching a decision.
The Managing Board chose to run the editorial March 4 so that we could conclude all election-related coverage prior to classes adjourning for Spring Break. The quick turnaround also allowed us to address the issue while the candidates and their platforms were likely still fresh in students' minds. Unfortunately, because of the ongoing elections, and particularly given that at least one of the outstanding races was contested, this timing led to the perception that the Managing Board did not fully consider all possible nominees for Committee and UJC chair. That our editorial may have detracted from these elections is deeply regrettable, and we apologize for any aggravation this decision caused.
That said, we did not exclude any candidate from consideration, including those from the Education, Batten and Medical Schools. The Managing Board used a number of sources to evaluate candidates' credentials: campaign platforms from the University Board of Elections' voter's guide, from candidates' public statements and transcripts taken from The Cavalier Daily's election endorsement interviews, which totalled about 11 hours. Ideally, of course, the Managing Board would have sat down with each of the victors from every school and conducted more interviews specifically for the purpose of endorsing Committee and UJC chairs. Unfortunately, because of the difficulty of scheduling yet another round of interviews, it would simply not have been feasible to perform an additional round of interviews. We regret that not every candidate was able to meet with us, however, and will look for ways to offer more inclusive interview sessions next year.
Ultimately, though it may have been less contentious to avoid making suggestions for Committee and UJC chairs altogether, we judged the issue to be pertinent enough to the University community to warrant an editorial. The chairs are elected internally, but opening the process to student scrutiny and feedback would seem to be in the best interest of all parties involved.
Of course, as is the case with any editorial we write, or with the nature of journalism in general, we confront the age-old problem of imperfect information. Although we strive to gather all the relevant facts and talk with as many sources as possible, at times we must make decisions with limited information. We do not hesitate to admit that mistakes will happen and must be held accountable for them. Nevertheless, it would be a disservice to readers if we avoided all editorial topics that required a bit of risk to assess. Oftentimes, the more challenging an issue is to cover, the more relevant it is to the student body.
Read More
PAYNE: U.Va.’s acquisition of the FEI directly harms the children of Charlottesville
By Michael Payne | 35 minutes agoThe Department of Education rescinded its award to CCS and gave the FEI property to the University instead.
COHEN: Charlottesville must embrace a comprehensive solution to homelessness
By Ryan Cohen | 2 days agoThe city has made several past efforts to reduce homelessness, but the growing number of unhoused people suggests that these temporary solutions are simply not enough.
WILLIAMS: The future of Virginia is on the ballot this fall
By Ryan Williams | 6 days agoHence, voters must make it their top priority to think critically and closely as they decide who their ballot will support this fall.
