My name is Taylor Aldredge. I am a Student Admissions Representative for the Boston University Admissions Reception Center and a journalism major in the College of Communication. I had time to read Kase Wickman’s recent article (‘BU hiding papers is nothing new,’ April 29). I even read it while at work today at 121 Bay State Road, as did prospective and accepted students we saw that day. While the article poses a point about newspaper censorship by a larger institution, it was narrow-minded and poorly reported for a number of reasons that I will try to articulate.
I’m concerned about Kase Wickman’s decision to use Facebook as a means of reporting and finding quotes when there were no quotes. Facebook has become a great means for finding information, but to use it to get a quote when you clearly did not have one seems rather desperate. A good reporter would’ve found the quotes and asked as many people as he or she could.’ ‘No comment’ does not stop a reporter, but in this case, it seems to have knocked Daily Free Press reporters to the ropes.
Moreover, the reporter who came to 121 Bay State Road to talk to prospective students was not ‘escorted from the building.’ She identified herself, asked if she could speak to the students, the assistant director said the office has ‘no comment’ on the incident, she proceeded to say ‘I knew that’s what you would say’ and escorted herself out.
I don’t think what the Admissions Office has done can be considered censorship. The office has not stopped parts of the paper from being published, nor has it destroyed copies of the paper as to prevent students from ever knowing it existed. The information in the DFP can be accessed in either of two computer kiosks in the waiting rooms, and if asked, we will give one to the student or family.
What the Daily Free Press needs to realize is that the Admissions Office is about customer service and selling an image. That’s the point of the office.’ Philip Markoff does not represent BU; he just happened to go to this school while allegedly being the Craigslist killer. DFP reporters could’ve called other admissions offices to see what they would’ve done, but they didn’t. If the DFP had a table at Splash or an event to highlight its accomplishments, the paper wouldn’t present articles that represented it poorly, such as ones with poor grammar or bad sentence construction. However, that seems to be the standard as of late.
So, Kase Wickman, as managing editor I expect a higher caliber of reporting. Facebook quotes are a lazy way to go about getting quotes from people. Next time, do the work, ask the tough questions and don’t give up. For now, the BU community and I will keep looking up, trying to see the DFP staff while it sits high on its pedestal.
Taylor Aldredge
COM ’10
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Ok, I’m speaking independently and not as a part of the paper when I write this, but I have to say that I fundamentally disagree with the thesis of this letter. You’re saying that the FreeP had no right to publish incendiary remarks that an admissions staffer left on his Facebook page talking about a clearly controversial policy? Really? It wasn’t like his comments were ancillary to the matter at hand; they were the crux of the story (and deservedly so). When the comments were posted online, they became public — and therefore acceptable for the paper to publish, especially considering they revealed a practice that many would find corrupt. <p/>The reporter of this story obviously did not have trouble getting quotes from people as you claim — her story contains many opinions from many different sources. That the admissions office told her they were unable to comment is not a testament to “lazy” reporting as much as it is to Boston University’s love of stonewalling journalists whenever a controversial issue emerges. <p/>On one point I agree with you — if your version of events is accurate and the reporter was not “escorted” from the admissions office, the Free Press is being misleading about that scenario, which I find disappointing. On the whole, however, I am surprised to see a letter like this come from a journalism student. If you believe that the internet should not be a source for investigative journalism, you seem to have a very limited perspective on your craft. And, more pertinently, if you believe that hiding copies of an independent newspaper isn’t unethical, I would advise you to immediately switch your major to Public Relations.