For about 20 percent of the Student Body here at UF, the Student Government election season is exciting. Let's count within that group the Greeks (myself included), Hispanic Student Association, Black Student Union and other large to semi-large student groups that make up the majority coalition party in SG. Pepper in the socialists, progressives and random concerned students who make up the two minority parties and boom - we have all of the students who are currently giddy with excitement or absolutely irate over the election results. These students know (or are told) who they are going to vote for each and every election. Regardless, their votes are set.
The issue is with the other 80 percent of students who would vote or do occasionally. Many of them become politically "informed" from this very publication. They read its endorsements and, more importantly, its articles. Now, I have never taken a journalism class, but I was always under the impression that an article in any newspaper was supposed to have its biases removed by the writers, and then from the editors.
However, the front page of this newspaper on Tuesday morning demonstrated otherwise. The Alligator can no longer consider itself politically unbiased. Its disposition for the minority parties in SG has crept into its news pages, and that is truly troubling.
Let me begin by saying that I don't take issue at all with the content of the front-page article claiming that the Unite, Gator and Independent (Independents in Senate are inevitably Unite Party senators in all but the rarest cases) senators and Cabinet secretaries have criminal records.
Senators and Cabinet officials are public officials charged with using millions of our Activity & Service Fee dollars, and their criminal records should be of concern to us. As a check and balance, the Alligator therefore has the duty to report such transgressions to the voting public.
However, it is the manner in which it was done that proves the Alligator's clear SG biases.
Dropping this story on election day is clearly irresponsible, especially when it is the largest single article of the year and is front and center in the morning's paper. The timing was clearly meant to skew the election results, otherwise Thomas Stewart would have published his article weeks or months ago.
How can I say that? Stewart reported on criminal records as far back as 2006. While it certainly qualified as news then, Student Body President Jordan Johnson having a house party three years ago is clearly irrelevant now. The same goes for all of the past criminal records, especially because many of the named individuals aren't even up for re-election.
The Alligator ignored its journalistic duty of remaining unbiased by publishing this article on election day. Not only that, it delayed the reporting of news until it decided it was relevant and served it politically.
I don't care if you don't like the voting boards that Greeks use to coerce voting or the way they slate candidates to satisfy each house or student organization within their coalition umbrella. I don't like it either, and I am part of the process. But Stewart and the Alligator editors should have retained an unbiased stance outside of the opinions pages.
