A major part of investigative journalism is to reveal information that the public would not have otherwise known about. This is a job that must be done, regardless of whether people get angry at the messengers or not. However, one thing that is not necessary is the theft of over 400 copies of The Shield from newsstands. The first copy of the paper is free, additional copies are 25 cents each. The Shield had $1,715.18 in ad revenue for the Feb. 9 issue. That works out to roughly $275.00 per paper plus 25 cents per issue.
In last week’s issue The Shield asked the question, “Are you represented?”
This was not a stab at Greek life or its high involvement in various organizations on campus. It was to point out the lack of involvement of others. The article was not written as an attack on anyone. We presented facts we believed students should know and could result in other organizations asking for representation.
In regards to the approval of the S.O.S. Grant Resolution, the official minutes from the meeting, obtained from the SGA office and the copy of the resolution say two different things. The minutes say Camille Dorrell moved to approve the S.O.S. Grant Resolution however the actual resolution, obtained from the dean of student’s office say that SGA president Jordan Whitledge motioned to give the funding to his fraternity, Lambda Chi Alpha. Therefore we have posted both on The Shield’s web site for the readers to see.
The Shield also did not take any quote from Whitledge out of context in order to fit the article. Doing so would go against the ethics of journalism, of which we adhere to in the highest standard.
“I remember that meeting. I should’ve abstained from the actual vote on it,” Whitledge said, referring to the motion.