Comment Policy

Comments on StudLife.com are moderated to create a space where all readers feel comfortable adding to the discussion and to ensure that discussion remains on topic. We encourage readers to use their full name or initials when submitting comments as that generally leads to more respectful and substantive debate. Comments posted by registered users are generally approved automatically, however we reserve the right to remove them if they violate this policy.

In moderating comments, we follow the same standards of taste that apply to the our print edition. Although we will not delete comments based on spelling or grammar, we do not permit personal attacks, and obscenity and profanity may be altered to conform to AP Style. We will not permit commercial promotions, incoherence and SHOUTING. Comments are not moderated because they express (or fail to express) a specific political ideology or opinion.

Comments are never edited (except to conform to AP Style); they are either approved as submitted or deleted. Comment moderation is necessarily subjective, but we strive to maintain the same standards across the board.

A reminder: Once your comment is published, it can be found in search results on Web sites like Google, Bing and Yahoo. Like all content, comments are governed by our Web Policy stating that, once published, we do not remove content from our online archive.

A Student Life reporter may occasionally use the e-mail address you listed when submitting your comment for a follow-up interview, but as stated in our Privacy Policy, we will never release your e-mail address to a third party.

From time to time, Student Life prints comments from StudLife.com in the print edition with the user name attached to that comment; in these cases, we reserve the right to edit your comment for spelling and grammar, but we will not alter the content of your comment.

We welcome strong opinions and criticism of our work, but comment boards are not intended to become bogged down by discussion about Student Life. We appreciate when readers and people quoted in articles point out errors in fact or emphasis and we will investigate these assertions; these points, however, should be submitted by e-mail to ensure that they are handled promptly.

To submit a correction or to raise a concern about our reporting methods, please contact our editors using this form or by sending an e-mail to [email protected].

Revised: March 2013

Sign up for the email edition

Stay up to date with everything happening at Washington University and beyond.

Subscribe