In an age of social media, access to news and information can seem less like a privilege than a tidal wave. What we end up seeing isn’t fully objective: It’s composed, in large part, of opinions and biased perspectives that arise in the aftermath of striking or unsettling events. As long as you have a device and an internet connection, you can share and consume opinions on any given subject with minimal vetting.
Some of these opinions are well-considered; many more are not. And an uncomfortably large number are intentionally malicious, seeking to spread hate, perpetuate misinformation, or cause instability.
There’s no shortage of editorialized content in the world today. So why would you specifically seek out the opinion page of a newspaper, and why ours in particular? What do we, as a student newspaper, have to offer you as a member of the Princeton community?
Our editorial process can begin to answer that question. Every Opinion piece published in The Daily Princetonian passes through the hands of multiple Opinion editors, the copy desk, and the managing editors. We do this to ensure that we produce quality writing about relevant topics, and so readers can trust that every single piece we publish has been thoroughly fact-checked and revised for clarity of argument and precision of language.
Posts on Fizz or listserv emails do not benefit from the careful attention of editors, and they aren’t held to the same ethical standards. When emotions run high, it’s much more difficult to publish a column than to post to social media. It’s exactly at these moments of intensity that reasoned commentary is most powerful. That’s why it’s essential to get it right through clear, direct argumentation and accountability to the facts.
But the thoughtfulness and integrity behind what we publish isn’t the only reason why the Opinion section might interest you. From understanding how our grades intertwine with politics to a story from a professor challenging a particular framing of college classrooms, reading the Opinion section allows you to access perspectives on issues that you wouldn’t be able to get any other way.
Engaging with Opinion — whether through reading or writing — brings you into closer contact with campus discourse. Just as news reporters provide unbiased coverage on campus developments, we work to communicate to our readers what these events mean for their lives, and how current campus issues might intersect with their own values and roles in the community.
The Opinion section’s content can do more than just keep you informed. It can give you access to a space where members of the community commit to having difficult conversations about the topics that matter to them, from budget cuts to environmental impact to free speech and international students’ rights.
Campus issues continuously tie back to a high-stakes national political stage, further aggravated by an administration hostile to universities. As such, the discourse that concerns life at Princeton can be divisive, complicated, and confusing. But that’s why our section is here. Listening closely, forming your own arguments, and defending them are all fundamental to being a member of any community, Princeton or not.
But publishing content that people will like is not the Opinion section’s role. New York Times columnist and Pulitzer Prize winner Carlos Lozada GS ’97 wrote that he “[dies] a little inside” every time someone wholeheartedly agrees with an argument he makes. To a similar effect, the goal of Opinion’s writing is not to be the most agreeable or win the largest consensus. And it is certainly not to simply affirm your thinking.
Instead, we write to stimulate engagement with issues that matter to the daily lives of Princetonians. We write to challenge the status quo, prod at perspectives, and introduce you to ideas you might have never considered. When we edit, we’re concerned with whether a piece is well-researched and well-argued, not with whether or not we personally agree with the opinion at issue.
You may or may not be persuaded by a given piece you read in the Opinion section. But confronting and entertaining ideas you disagree with — no matter how much you’ve thought through your own perspective — can help refine your arguments against them. The opinions we publish are intended to begin conversations, not end them, and certainly not to put a definitive lid on any issue.
A productive and stimulating campus discourse requires engagement from all sides. This process can be tense and overwhelming. But the best way to respond is with discourse grounded in strong argumentation and a willingness to be challenged — and that’s what our section works to provide.
Lily Halbert-Alexander and Charlie Yale are the head editors of the Opinion section of the ‘Prince.’ They encourage you to respond to this piece or write an op-ed for the ‘Prince.’ You can reach them at opinion[at]dailyprincetonian.com.
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