TO THE EDITOR:
Judging by The Daily Tar Heel’s recent weather forecast — “having fun, SBP petitioners?” — and Quickhit on the “massive egos” of the candidates for SBP, the DTH is once again adopting a tone of sneering contempt for student body politics.
During last year’s campaign season, the DTH ran story after story focused on student apathy and low voter participation rates. Whether this decision was informed by a cowardly fear of publishing analytical articles, lazy journalism, or both, is irrelevant. By repeatedly forsaking its duty to evaluate and discuss platform positions so that it could better preach that student politics and student politicians were worthy objects of ridicule, the DTH discouraged participation, fueling the very apathy it decried.
Whether it is defending the drop in the N.C. General Assembly, advocating for affordable education to the Board of Trustees or leading the way on sexual assault reform here on campus, student government matters. Hopefully this year the DTH will live up to its function as the primary source of news and insight for campus by endowing all campaigns with the dignity they deserve.
Peter Vogel ’15
History
Political science
Michael Hardison ’14 Journalism
Political science
