The responsibility of reading the newspaper

Each week in the Chimes office, there is a sense of excitement when letters to the editor are received. Writers, especially those from the perspectives section, get much enjoyment from hearing from the student body. The Chimes staff may not always agree with the opinion of the letter writer, but they rejoice when someone outside of the staff raises their voice, particularly when the voice is a dissenting one.

For some of us, journalism - even at the college level - is a calling. No one ever said answering a calling would be easy, and no one ever said we'd get it done right the first time.

When we are wrong, when we need to be guided back to a proper perspective, we need the Calvin community to keep us responsible. Writers are responsible for presenting the correct information within an article, copy editors are responsible for finding typographical errors and section editors are responsible for making sure the errors are corrected. The readers' responsibility does not end with reading the paper, but extends to engaging the writers, holding them accountable for what they write and pointing out their errors.

At the very least, readers should do more than just read the newspaper. The 25 or so staff members who choose to come in to Chimes are there for more than another activity to put on their resume after graduation, and for more than the socialization that is a byproduct of so much time spent together. We aren't writing these articles just to become better writers. We writing to inform and, sometimes, to prompt students into action.

The role of newspapers has dramatically changed over the past 200 years. Originally a primarily political tool, newspapers began under party sponsorship. As advertising began to supplement political funding, newspapers formed independent of the parties, eventually becoming fully independent entities.

At Calvin, the philosophy behind Chimes and other media organizations has been to allow for some advertising, but to subsidize the campus media enough that the students are able to focus on content, not ad revenue. At the same time, the student organizations have been allowed to maintain their independence from the administration and are generally given a relatively free rein in deciding which stories, television shows and songs are presented to the community.

Most Christian colleges are not given such freedom, and Calvin students should be grateful for that freedom.

Instead, they sit, apathetic, not responding or even showing the slightest reaction to what they read, see and hear. They may complain, for a moment, to a friend, but when it is time to take action, they sit idly by, allowing the moment to pass.

How many students at schools where the media are more restricted would love to have one chance at the freedom to respond that Calvin students so easily pass by?

And, speaking now for Chimes, don't for a minute believe that by writing a letter to the editor or expressing an opinion to any of the staff members will somehow hurt our feelings or damage our self-confidence beyond repair. We have more than enough self-confidence for any student and we don't know what the student body is thinking until they tell us. We cannot express student opinions until we know what those opinions are.

There are moments in which we hope to provoke some sort of reaction, initiate change. That provocation will come from the editorial and perspectives pages, nowhere else. However, we will attempt to increase awareness of both the Calvin community and the rest of the world on our other pages. We intend to inform and spur discussion; we will not sit silently.

Each week, Chimes produces 20 pages of news, sports, features, arts, perspectives and community happenings. Each week, numerous issues of Chimes sit unread all over campus. Who are we not reaching, and how can we rectify that? Who is feeling alienated? Who feels marginalized?

Although the Chimes staff cannot guarantee that every group on campus will be catered to each week, we do hope to meet the needs of the majority of students in as many ways as we possibly can. We simply cannot do this without feedback.

The role of a newspaper is to informed, but its reporters must also be informed. Don't hesitate to talk with a Chimes writer; even the most inexperienced writer has no intentions of misquoting or misrepresenting what has been said.

It is the goal of Chimes this year to reach out to students who have not been targeted in the past. If we accomplish this, let us know. If not, tell us what we can do to make Chimes more relevant to the student body.

Only through letters, e-mails and comments can we learn what we're doing right and what we're doing wrong. To sit there and allow us to continue to make mistakes that are easily fixed is irresponsible. When our readers take hold of their responsibilities, we will be better able to meet their needs.