I hesitantly offered to write for the sports section of The Student Life at the beginning of the semester. The hesitancy derived from my low opinion of the quality of the paper as a result of its poor content and writing style during my first semester on campus. I chose to write for the paper because I found it more important to attempt to actively change it, rather than to absently denigrate it. The sports editors requested that I write an article concerning the men’s golf team. I researched and wrote the story, turning in an initial version a day before the established deadline. I withheld a final draft of the golf article until the following day, hoping to interview two more players for the article. I was unable to contact either individual so I submitted the final text on the following day. When I submitted the article, the editorial staff reserved the right to make minor grammar modifications, but never addressed altering the content, prose, tone, or message of the article. The text I submitted failed to appear in any form in the published version of the article in the February 9 edition. I received no notification of the changes to the article prior to publication, and thus received no opportunity to oppose or alter the changes to the article. The published version misattributed and manufactured quotes, and took other quotes out of the context in which I took them. Furthermore, the new article insulted the quoted individuals and the team as a whole.

This incident embodies the immaturity, poor writing style, paucity of character, and lack of journalistic integrity apparent in much of The Student Life (TSL). First, the manufacturing and misattribution of quotes in the rewritten text calls into the question the integrity of the entire editorial staff. Secondly, poorly written, sarcastic articles concerning less than pertinent issues dot each edition of the TSL. In the last issue alone, the TSL prominently addressed competitive urination and cited the soap opera Port Charles as source. The real problem with the TSL does not directly lie in its poor quality (students can choose not to read the paper), but in how it reflects upon the college to individuals and prospective students who visit the college. Student papers depict the mood, interests, and personality of a college’s student body. From reading The Student Life, a visitor might view the Pomona student body as a group of sophomoric individuals who largely lack integrity and fail to examine and address issues of true significance with any degree of objective thought. Moreover, the poor prose of the writers calls into question the quality of a Pomona education, specifically the ability of the school to develop necessary writing skills. I do not believe this is a desired representation of the college.

Obviously, the entire staff does not deserve blame for the condition of the paper. However, the entire college needs to address the quality of the paper and the message it communicates, as it reflects upon the college community as a whole, not just those who produce it.

I apologize to the individuals misquoted and quoted out of context in the February 9 article published under my byline.

Sincerely,

Andrew Kasper ’04