Friday, October 12, 2007

Editors respond to 'What's in a name?' column

By Lindsay Dickson, Amy Kalina
and Abby Zimmer
Editors

As editors of the Cardinal newspaper, we respect the opinion given in Austin Quick’s column above and the author’s right to express his views. However, we feel it is necessary to provide some background.
Read more...


Quick had asked Cardinal editors about devoting an entire page to “matters of faith.” After considering Quick’s request, we told him that, “Although SMU is a Catholic university, the Cardinal should remain a neutral publication.” We would like to clarify this statement: news articles in the Cardinal need to be neutral and objective. Opinions, however, are welcome in editorials, letters to the editor, and columns – including opinions on the Catholic nature of the university.

Along with our advisor, we offered Quick a half-page editorial column on any subject in the Cardinal’s print version, as well as the option to post more articles on our online version. The Cardinal aims to be relevant to as broad a readership base as possible, within a limited amount of space. We decided that a half-page, devoted to Quick’s column, was reasonable and generous.

As editors of the Cardinal, it is not our right or obligation to defend the Catholic nature of the university. However, as Saint Mary’s students, we take offense at Quick questioning the faith and Catholic nature of this university. No matter where students are on their faith journey, we hope that they are able to adopt the Lasallian charism. We believe many students have embraced the Lasallian spirit through actions in their everyday lives. Whether it is by spending time with children through Big and Little Pals or offering a helping hand with flood relief, many SMU students acknowledge Saint John Baptist de La Salle through service.

In the words of Saint Francis of Assisi, “Preach the Gospel at all times, and when necessary use words.”

We agree that actions speak louder than words.

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