The year is almost over as another chapter of the Statesman is about to close. As usual, we continued our focus to provide top coverage of campus news.’ We brought to attention all of the happenings on campus whether it was a celebration, such as this week’s Strawberry Festival, or something more serious, such as the continued controversy surrounding our Undergraduate Student Government.
We started this semester with the report from the Blue Ribbon Commission (BRC) regarding our Medical Center. Many allegations were made against SBUMC in the local news claiming that the deaths of three pediatric patients was a result of improper care provided at SBUH.’ Our writers spent hours contacting sources to report the news as truthfully and objectively as possible.
Right after the BRC evaluation, the proposed campus-wide smoking ban captured our attention as we searched to find the exact policies and decisions that were being decided as well as student opinions regarding the issue. We strived to cover all aspects of the issues whether it was from the officials from the SUNY Board of Trustees to students on campus. We continued to follow up and eventually found that the smoking ban was defeated during the University Senate meeting.
The problems that students found regarding Campus Dining was emphasized in an investigative series where we focused on overcrowding, monetary and logistical problems evident in our dining services. We interviewed campus administrators, media relations officers and students regarding their opinions of the issue to find out every side of the story.
In addition to news on campus, we covered news that was affecting other college campuses, such as the controversy over the Shakur/Morales Center at City College threatening civil liberties to the recent Virginia Tech massacre that affected many our peers. We trailed after the Killer Coke situation and academic issues such as the Open Access Debate regarding research and funding.
And, of course, we can’t forget our friends at USG.’ This past semester has been particular difficult for the student body to see the poor judgment of several Executive Council members. In addition, many USG funded clubs saw funding cut for the upcoming 07-08 academic year, while a selected few clubs and organizations saw a distinct increase in their funding.
Regardless of what we have been covering, our goal has remained to bring timely news to our campus community.’ In the upcoming year, our focus will remain to increase our staff size even keeping in mind the parity of our newsroom.
Comments by readers are always welcome as we care about the input from students, staff, and faculty.’ We thank the campus community for a great semester wish students the best of luck on their finals.
