SOUTHW0RDS
September 1971
Afterwords
"Let us make it perfectly clear..."
no author
Whether we are willing to recognize it or not, America is undergoing a revolution. This revolution can be appreciated in intangible changes in our moral codes and value systems; it can be physically seen in massive protests, sometimes accompanied by destruction of property.
Such revolutionary change came slowly to Maine South. Both student apathy and administrative control put us in isolation, impervious to change. Fortunately, at a slow, but accelerating rate, this trend is reversing itself--with a flexible dress code, non-mandatory assemblies, pressure for open campus. We are not students in revolt; we are at best students making some progress.
A newspaper must keep pace with change. The student newspaper in the face of student revolution must report reforms and reactions and publish editorial comment.
Southwords has not adequately coped with that responsibility. Extreme stands have been taken on trivial issues; cautious conservatism has been expressed when a firmly liberal position should have been espoused. Sometimes a middle-of-the-road philosophy has prevented Southwords from saying anything. This year;s editorial policy is designed to correct these ills.
We believe that our newspaper speaks with several voices. First, in an objective voice, reporting to all elements of the school those occurrences inside and outside which affect the individual or Maine South as a whole.
Second, Southwords speaks with two editorial voices. Southwords is the voice of students to students and the voice of students to administration.
As the voice of students to students, we assert our right and responsibility to critique student activities: to commend students for maturity, to censure for irresponsibility, to encourage in the face of unfair opposition, to dissuade from overreaction.
As the voice of students to administration, we recognize that we are one of the few channels through which the administration can learn what students think about the issues. Therefore, without becoming opinion polls, Southwords editorials will attempt to express the opinion of a majority of South students. Editorials will not be, cannot be, nor should they be simple reflections of all student views; editorials must and will attempt to be amalgamations of the complex body of student views.
So that Southwords editorials do not become tools for the prejudices of any one person, we pledge that our editorial position will be taken on the basis of joint discussion of the editorial board and the Southwords staff. We reiterate our willingness to print dissenting opinion as expressed in open letters.
Above all, we intend to adhere to the highest of professional journalistic ethics, and assert that on Southwords the end shall never justify the means.