As journalists, we have covered very uncomfortable stories, stories that no one else wants to cover. We have to cover sexual assaults, suspected murder cases, school funding, so on and so forth. And yes, we have to cover these things. It is our job to communicate to our readers what is happening in our community and on our campus–good or bad.
Newspapers aim to be the voice for people who feels as if they do not have one–take “Jane” from Emporia State University, for instance. Jane was allegedly sexually assaulted by Brian Schrader, tenured professor of psychology. The school’s administration made her sign a non-disclosure agreements (NDA) before a proper investigation could begin. Jane broke her confidentiality to speak to The Bulletin, Emporia State’s newspaper publication, despite the fear of retaliation. We bring up Jane to showcase how reporting on the misconducts that happen, on or off of campus, is beneficial.
We believe that communication on campus is vital to our students’, staff members’ and administration’s safety. However, communication does not start with the newspaper. Communication and honesty from our campus police officers and administration is necessary, as well–not just with reporters, but with students and staff as well.
One way the school aims to communicate with students is by the use of BEARS (Butler Emergency Alert Reporting System).
BEARS is the contact service for Butler Community College, giving student information, from school outages to incidents occurring on campus. However, BEARS alerts are selective in regards to when they are sent out and why they are sent out.
Earlier this month, an incident took place in the 1500 building where a student, Bruce Grooms Jr., exposed himself to other students. There was no alert sent to campus community to inform them about this incident. While the occurrence seems like no big deal, nobody was keeping an eye out to help catch the individual who did this. Within the next two days, it happened again. As stated before, because the student had not been informed to keep an eye out, there was no way to avoid something like this. While the Grooms Jr. was caught, things like this could easily happen again and with no alerts, will continue to happen.
The Butler community deserve to know what is going on at their school, day or night. If something is going on in the dorms, students should be aware in order to avoid areas and be informed. If small fires are newsworthy enough to inform all about, then so are large fights or people exposing themselves.
It brings up an uneasy question: How bad does the crime have to be for a BEARS alert to be sent out? How does Butler ensure the safety of the students when crimes are not reported?
Crimes, in a normal capacity, need to be reported to the public. Wouldn’t you like to know if there had been a string of arsons in your area? Wouldn’t you like to know if the campus that you call home had multiple assaults committed on it?
It comes down to a matter of practicality. Yes, crimes are a sensitive product to report on. People who know the individuals reported on will defend them tooth and nail, and say that all the news is doing is dragging their name(s) through the dirt. But in reality, it’s our civic duty to report what is going on. It is the right of students and staff, on and off of campus, to know what is happening on their campus and in their community.
