In last week’s edition of the Signal, we published an editorial outlining our thoughts on gun control. We have had much response to this, including a flood of comments on this website. But there seems to have been a bit of confusion about what an editorial is.
Google, the great and powerful, says an editorial is “a newspaper article written by or on behalf of an editor that gives an opinion on a topical issue.” Editorials in the Signal are written by one of our print editors, to the general consensus of the rest of the editors. They are not the official view of Ouachita Baptist University, nor are they the official view of every member of our staff. They are the view of the editorial board.
Editorials generally cover a somewhat controversial topic, so responses by the Ouachita community are expected and absolutely welcome. For this reason, we have set up several ways for you to send us your responses and commentary.
Letters to the editor can be submitted via email (signal@obu.edu) or campus mail (OBU Box 3761). Comments can be left on our website by simply filling out your name, email and comment on the post.
Differing opinions are a part of life; we know this. We understand that your opinion may be different from ours, and we’d like to hear about it. However, we believe there is a respectful way to voice your opinion.
On Monday night, our website was flooded with comment after comment attacking our staff for our opinion. We were called gun-hating liberals, “losers” and “profoundly ignorant.” Commenters said our article was “well written for a fifth grader” and that we need to go “jump in front of a train.” And those were the nice ones.
Obviously many of these comments came from people off-campus. But they bring up a point about respect. We respect your opinions; in return, we want you to respect ours. Name calling, insulting and putting down are not the best ways to express your opinion to us. If you are trying to make an argument, this comes off as uneducated and weak.
State your opinion. Back it up with facts. Give us an example. We understand that it is not our way or the highway. We are not mad; we love getting feedback from our readers. But we want it to be tasteful and of value.
We look forward to hearing from you soon.
Tanner Ward
Editor-in-Chief
