Letter from the editor: A fictional Potter Box piece in regards to the film "Shattered Glass"

Staff and Writers,

As the editor, I've come across the resume of Stephen Glass. After the truth came out about Glass at The National Republic, it is very difficult to decide whether or not to hire him. The facts remain that he completely or partially fabricated data on almost half of his articles while working at the magazine. What is particularly troubling is that he fabricated his work under two separate editors, so would I be just another? Even worse, he lied about lying, and created new fabrications in order to try and cover his tracks. But that was years ago…

Even if nearly half of his articles were tampered with, the majority was legitimate. As an editor, I value quality writing, but above all I need trust and truth. For me, the two are interchangeable, if you tell me the truth, you've earned my trust. And if I trust you, I’ll believe that what you have to say is the truth. But like me, his previous editors believed Glass, and it tanked their magazine. Glass is full of talent, and with most writers, he can only get better with the wisdom he’s picked up through the years. So whether or not he would fabricate stories again is questionable.

I need to look at the principles if I want to get down to the bottom of this. If I use Aristotle’s Golden mean, I would place one extreme as shredding his resume, putting it in an envelope, and sending it back to him. The other would be turning a blind eye to the facts and hire him on the spot. As a middle-ground, I could maybe see myself hiring him, but with an intern or photographer on his tail at every event. If I use Kant’s Categorical Imperative, it gets trickier. If I were in his shoes, I’d want a universal law of having the opportunity to prove myself to the world that it was the mistake of a scared kid; I’d want a second shot. But fabricating a quote is different than over 20 articles… If I use Mill’s Principle of Utility, What would make the most people happy? I’d love to have an excellent writer on my staff, he’d love to have the job, but would my readers want to see a piece from a man who wrote lies, lies read and believed even on the inflight magazine of Air Force One?

It was always evident that Glass was an excellent writer, but as a journalist, his first loyalty should have been to the truth, but he chose entertainment and the advancement of his career first. As an editor, my loyalty is first and foremost to the truth, then to my staff and writers. If I can’t trust that my writers are giving me the truth in their stories, I can’t be loyal to them. And in this business, my ass is on the line even more so than the writer’s. As terrible as it was that Glass’ career was ruined, it’s been ages since I’ve even heard the phrase “The National Republic;” an entire magazine essentially reduced to rubble because of one man, the man who now wants to work under me at my magazine.

It’s a shame he wasted all of that talent. He went all in, had the winning hand, but pulled an ace from out of his sleeve anyway and got caught. The facts are too strong, his loyalties too wrong, and regretfully, I’ll have to turn down Glass as a writer for our magazine.

Santa Clara Survey Story

How Florida Could Launch Romney to Presidency

Two weeks ago, Mitt Romney was hurting. After losing the South Carolina Presidential Primary to Newt Gingrich, he held his head high and told supporters to to remain strong as he marched onward to Florida. 

For the last eight elections, the winner of the South Carolina Primary has eventually won out as the republican presidential candidate. But the 32-year history may be broken. Romney’s go-getter attitude seems to be exactly what republican voters were looking for in Florida. After convincingly taking the Florida Primary over rival Gingrich, Romney secured his place at the front of the pack again with two primary ideas: turning the economy around, and getting Obama out of the White House.

For most students on campus, whether Romney or Gingrich wins the republican race is a non-issue. Freshman Civil Engineer major Caleb Young said, “I haven’t registered (to vote) or anything, I don’t really know enough care to about this election.” 

But Romney’s second goal in this race, to get Obama out of office, seems to resonate with voters in both parties. 

Jason Watkins, a junior Philosophy-Ethnic Studies double major said he may vote independent this year. “I want my vote to actually count towards something,” said Watkins. After suggesting he probably wouldn’t vote Republican anyway, he joked that the only thing Obama really has going for him is that like Watkins, he’s black. Otherwise he’s not interested in voting for the current president again and wants to see what else is out there. 

Similarly, junior Political Science-Economics double major Warda Ali is actually considering voting independent for the first time in her life. Ali is upset with the current administration and it seems that neither party is catering to her needs as an individual citizen. Although she was seventeen during the last election, she has always considered herself a Democrat and if she had to choose, she would vote Obama over Romney. “He’s the lesser of two evils,” Ali said. 

While the win in Florida was great for Romney, the general consensus on campus seems to disagree with what he would bring to the presidential table. Regardless of whether or not he could take the GOP race, it doesn’t seem likely that he will be getting votes from too many Santa Clara students this election. But with many traditional voters shying away from Obama, Florida could be the biggest step for Romney’s campaign to the presidency.

Reporting at Santa Clara University

Putting a Dent in the Dry Spell

The academic calendar may say “Winter Quarter,” but it felt more like summer vacation last week. Northern California was suffering through a long drought, yet the dry spell had its benefits. Students soaked in the warm sunshine, people seemed cheery, and smiles were commonplace.
But last Thursday, students and faculty alike brushed the dust off of jackets, umbrellas, and rain boots to combat the wet weather. There was no denying it anymore. Winter was back, and it had taken Santa Clara by storm.

With the change of weather came a change in attitude among the students on campus. For some, the onslaught of rain dampened weekend plans. Senior Communication major Chelsi Johnston and her classmates had hoped to begin shooting an assignment in experimental film for a class. The shot required ample sunshine, but the sky had different plans. “It was too rainy to shoot outside,” Johnston said.

For senior Psychology major Taylor Conte, the current president of the Ski & Snowboard Club at Santa Clara, the rain had a different effect. As a member for the past 4 years, the drought really lowered moral and the ability to ride for the club this year. 

“It is currently the worst winter in Tahoe in over 200 years. We all have been praying for snow more then we probably have been studying,” Conte said. “We had over 20 kids up in Tahoe last weekend and will have another big group going up this weekend. We have a cabin open to Santa Clara Students for $40 a weekend if anyone wants to come play in the snow.”

Alan Takeda, who has worked in landscape maintenance at Santa Clara for the past two years, noticed the difference as well. Santa Clara has often been praised for its beautiful campus. Lush green lawns, sidewalks lined with fragrant rosebushes, and bright flowers contrasting the whitewashed adobe walls give the school that recognizable picturesque quality. 

The dry spell was detrimental to this beauty. Takeda said that winter annuals (flowers that only bloom during the winter season) have not received their normal rainfall, and with the lack of rain they become susceptible to frost damage. While the rain was beneficial to the flowers, this was not exactly the case for the lawns on campus.

Many students have to walk to and from class, regardless of the weather. When asked where students should try to avoid, Takeda quickly warned about the Accolti Way lawn. Located between the Sobrato and Sanfilippo Residence dormitories, this area tends to get muddy fast during the rainy season and can take weeks to dry up.

Similarly, Takeda offered that lawns on the north sides of buildings also tend to be soggy. The buildings block what already little sunlight peeks through the rainclouds, casting shadows on the lawns. This prevents the rain water from evaporating and keeps the grass wet.
There were a rare few who seemed oblivious to the downpour last week. The rain essentially eliminated senior English major Cameron Carbone’s distractions from the outside world as he was able to complete some heavy reading for class this past weekend. For Carbone, “it was nice seeing the rain again.”

As late as it was, the weather finally matched the winter season last week. But the storm left just as quickly as it had arrived after putting a dent in the dry spell. Forecasts for the upcoming weekend suggest a whole lot more of that summer vibe missing from last weekend.