To the Dartmouth Community,
A guest column entitled “You’re Not Tripping” was published this past Friday in The Dartmouth, resulting in campus discourse as well as questions about the newspaper’s editorial policies. The Dartmouth accepts guest column submissions from all members of the Dartmouth community and edits each in the same way. Guest columns, and any column published in The Dartmouth not under the authorship of “The Dartmouth Editorial Board,” do not represent the views of the newspaper or the editors who worked to bring it to publication.
The guest column policy, publicly available here, requires that submissions fall within a specific word count, disclose author affiliations with the subject material and comply with the newspaper’s standard editing procedure for accuracy and style. This process includes verifying all factual assertions and strictly prohibiting hate speech. The paper requires that writers provide sources, which are generally not published, for every factual assertion. Columns that adhere to these policies are published. If a factual inaccuracy is found following publication, a correction will be issued.
Every factual assertion in the guest column in question was reviewed to ensure that the piece is neither slanderous nor ad hominem in its criticisms. The Dartmouth published publicly-available names, in accordance with the practice of specifying individuals discussed when they are public figures or organizational leaders, and notified the individuals named both upon receipt of the guest column submission and prior to its publication. To these points, the guest column will remain online in its current form.
The Dartmouth, an independent newspaper, takes its role seriously and aims to continue to advance open discourse within the community. The paper encourages any interested individuals to direct questions, comments or concerns about the column or the paper’s policies to editor@thedartmouth.com. Individuals are also welcome to submit guest columns of their own to opinion@thedartmouth.com and/or editor@thedartmouth.com. Submissions will undergo the same fact-checking and editing process and be published upon compliance with the guest column policy.
We encourage readers to continue to contribute to the discussion on our coverage and policies. We remain committed to fostering constructive dialogue and appreciate the feedback that has been provided both publicly and privately. We will continue to serve the Dartmouth community to the best of our abilities.
Thank you.
Ray Lu, Editor-in-Chief
Kourtney Kawano, Executive Editor
Erin Lee, Executive Editor
Parker Richards, Opinion Editor
Ziqin Yuan, Opinion Editor
