One student writes to 'The Post' to discuss reporting practices when it comes to recent stories about Acacia fraternity.
The Post's coverage of the Acacia serenade story has been bias and grossly subjective, leading me to question the entire paper's credibility. In the original story Oct. 30, important details were omitted that would support the fraternity in the matter — information that was fully available and even seen by Post staff. The Post quotes an article by Total Sorority Move; however, in that same article, it states that “the video is taken out of context,” a detail whose omittance is unacceptable from an unbiased news source.
As the story continued, Nov. 2's column reminds the reader of previous allegations against the fraternity, including the (Ohio University Student Union) pamphlet scandal, but does not acknowledge that these allegations — every single one — were based on hearsay and rumors. Previous investigations have been conducted and have found that the fraternity had not violated any university policies, something The Post neglected to print.
Previous articles about campus sexual assault have been covered by journalists and columnists who were active members of F--kRapeCulture. With articles being written from such clearly bias sources, it is hard to imagine unbiased coverage, let alone an unbiased newspaper.
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In The Post's most recent edition, the article with the headline “Acacia fraternity headquarters investigates OU chapter” does not only lead the reader astray with a misleading, even false headline, it overgeneralizes and uses circular reasoning to demonize the chapter. The headline suggests that the frat headquarters are actively investigating the OU chapter, but the article does not back this up, only saying that they are “collaborating” with Ohio University's investigation. I called the headquarters in Indianapolis, and no one there could actively confirm that they were actively investigating, only as a cooperative entity for the OU investigation. Though attempts are made to appear unbiased throughout this story's coverage by stating only facts and giving interviews, The Post is cherry picking which facts to print and which to omit in order to deliver their story. We know this as confirmation bias, and it's rampant.
Am I saying that singing “send nudes” at the top of one's lungs is acceptable behavior for anyone, let alone a fraternity? Absolutely not! But as a university, we should demand a balanced newspaper that goes the extra mile to deliver a compelling and whole story, not just the easy one. This extends to every story in every news source. Don't omit, edit, stretch or manipulate the truth — just report.
Cullum Andrews is a freshman at Ohio University.
