Opinions and Their Purpose

An introductory greeting from your editor.

By: Christian Lengkeek

Hello, I am your new opinions editor. You may have read my articles before; there is a good chance you have not (maybe for your own good). But either way, I thought it would be only fair to introduce myself, but also, I want to write really briefly on how I will be running this section. 

The opinions section is the freest section of a paper. Newspapers are not centered around freedom. They are a way for information to be transported. Every newspaper has an agenda. We have responsibilities to our funders, the university, to our editor-in-chief and all the other leaders who make up our small organization. When we report on the news, we can’t report it any way we want to. In other words, we have rules.  

There is one section of a newspaper where the creative spirit, the liberal side of human nature, is given a small place to roam. An opinions section is very much what its name says it is. It is a place where an opinion, something one man has thought through, may be shared with a broader community of minds. There is no guarantee of the opinions being right, but there is a hope that the allowance of their print will bring some good. In some ways, the opinions section should be a place for the minority, or on a more basic level the individual. A place to speak when you are not heard. 

As I said before this is one section of the paper where freedom takes precedence, yet I do not believe this freedom should be used flippantly. In the same way that the Second Amendment was not created so that we could say anything, but so that we would not be prevented from speaking goodness and truth, the freedom of the opinions section must be used with caution, always aiming at that which is good and true. I have not always remained true to this principle, yet as your editor, I will strive to uphold it.   

In closing, let me briefly say that I want every student on Eastern’s campus to feel comfortable writing for the paper. Furthermore, I encourage all of you to write. We will be more than happy to publish your opinion piece. There are times to remain silent (I have trouble learning this). But there are times to speak.