The Editorially Independent Voice of The University of Akron

The Buchtelite

The Editorially Independent Voice of The University of Akron

The Buchtelite

The Editorially Independent Voice of The University of Akron

The Buchtelite

Graphic courtesy of Liv Ream; movie flyer from IMDB
In defense of Skinamarink
By Liv Ream, Arts and Entertainment Editor • October 1, 2023
Alternative Spring Break 2023 volunteers in Washington, D.C. Courtesy of Natalie Mowad.
Applications open for Akron’s 2024 Alternative Spring Break
By Taylor Lorence, Correspondent • October 1, 2023
The Northern Cheyenne tribe and community walking the ancient Portage Path from Portage Path CLC to the John Brown Home during a previous years First Peoples Day event. Photo courtesy of Portage Path Collaborative.
UA Holds events in celebration of North American First People’s Day   
By Shananne Lewis, Online Editor • September 28, 2023
White swan on water during daytime photo - Free Uk Image on Unsplash
The Swan's Rapture: a poem
By Emily Price, editor in chief • September 27, 2023
Desperately Seeking an Amazon Fighter, sculpture by Kimberly Chapman
"Easy Prey" art exhibit on display at Myers School of Art
By Taylor Lorence, Reporter, Secretary • September 21, 2023
“On the left, there’s me at work! I received the New Student Orientation “Gold Standard” award alongside 
and at the same time as my friend Gillian.”
Courtesy of Connor VanMaele
Fall 2023 Print Edition: Going the Distance
By Connor VanMaele, Correspondent • September 19, 2023
L to R: Steve Horner, Heather Barhorst, Haley Kuczynski, Shawna Blankenship, Brynley Harris, Jessie Redwine at the Pop-Up Pantry. Image Courtesy of ZipAssist.
ZipAssist Holds Community Resource Fair Tuesday, September 19 from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. in the SU 2nd Floor
By Shananne Lewis, Correspondent • September 18, 2023
Film critic Liv Ream and friend pose for photo (Image via Liv Ream)
My Barbie experience
By Liv Ream, Film Critic • September 17, 2023

Our View

“Some of our readers may feel that we’ve been reporting too much crime. Every issue, it seems, has a crime story on the front page. Stories about robberies, assaults, rape, or a story about an ex-employee allegedly spying on women in a residence hall bathroom.”

Some of our readers may feel that we’ve been reporting too much crime.

Every issue, it seems, has a crime story on the front page. Stories about robberies, assaults, rape, or a story about an ex-employee allegedly spying on women in a residence hall bathroom.

We report crime because it is newsworthy. While some individuals may feel that it is not relevant or important to them, crime on campus affects all of us.

When someone gets robbed at gunpoint half a block off-campus, it’s our job to report it. If we didn’t, we wouldn’t be doing our job.

If we didn’t, you should be pretty upset that you’re being kept in the dark about threats to your safety.

And don’t worry about prospective students picking up the paper and deciding against coming to UA.

We live in a city; prospective students and their parents already know it’s not the safest place to go to school.

Besides, shouldn’t they know what they’re facing? That way, they can make an informed decision about where to spend their college years.

If we stop reporting crime to only report positive things, we’d lose relevance and credibility among our readers.

What we don’t understand is why people don’t want to read stories about crime. If you’re a student living in the area surrounding campus, we would think that stories about crime on your street would be important to read.

And if these stories make the university seem like a haven for criminal activity, that’s not our fault.

But it’s probably not far from the truth, either.

Whether our newspaper’s front page is positive is irrelevant. It would be a disservice to our readers and the community if we only covered speakers, ceremonies and awards.

That’s called PR. The university already pays a bunch of folks good money to take care of that. We’re reporting the news, and it’s not our job to pick and choose stories based on how they make us feel. That’s called objectivity.

We resent the idea that because our writers are reporting crime, their stories are not worth reading. We also resent the idea that we have stooped to the level of cheap television newscasts.

We are not reporting crime to keep people reading.

We are reporting the crime on and around campus because it’s important and relevant to the campus community. It’s what a newspaper does, and it’s what a good news section does as well.

Reporting crime may not be the most desirable thing to do, but it is our job.

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