Dear readers,

The Nov. 19 issue of Student Life contains an article entitled “Panel addresses intersection of marginalized identities with WU sorority experience.” This article covers a Nov. 17 panel hosted by Sisters of Color and Lambda Q in which panelists addressed the experiences of people of color and LGBTQIA* individuals within the Greek life community at Washington University. The article contains quotes of what some panelists said at the event, identifies the panelists by name and Greek chapter, and at first included some remarks from the event that harmed those originally quoted.

We at Student Life deeply regret the harm that the article inflicted upon those quoted by its publication as well as the resulting impact on the University’s larger LGBTQIA* community. The quotes in question were removed from the article as soon we were made aware of their impact at around 10 a.m., Nov. 19.

While we are deeply sorry for the pain that publishing the quotes caused, we would also like to acknowledge that it is the policy and practice of publications across the country that anything said in a public forum can be quoted and republished at the discretion of the publication. At Student Life, that discretion means that we aim to never harm people in the way that we inadvertently did by publishing these quotes. This semester, our staff completed trainings with both SafeZones—a student group dedicated to educating others on campus about LGBTQIA* issues—and the Center for Diversity and Inclusion to better inform our coverage of sensitive topics. It is also our policy that our reporters check, when possible, with the organizers of events in which those holding marginalized identities are speaking to ensure that what is said can be recorded, quoted and published.

In order to explain how this article came to be published despite these policies and procedures, I would like to share with you the process through which it was written. I hope to be as transparent as possible and welcome questions and concerns, which can be directed to [email protected].

We were first made aware of this panel when, a few days before the event, we received an email from the president of Sisters of Color requesting that Student Life cover it. The email included a link to a public Facebook event promoting the panel, with more than 50 people saying they would attend and many more interested. We found this panel exciting, important and newsworthy, and assigned one of our news editors to report on the event.

At the event, in an attempt to avoid quoting statements that may harm individuals on the panel, our reporter engaged one of the panelists and asked if she could report on what was said. She was told she could. At the beginning of the panel, a statement was made by the panel’s moderator that “what is said here should stay here.” This seemed to contradict what our reporter had been told earlier, so after the event she approached the moderator who made the remark to confirm she could report on what was said. Again, she was told she could.

After the event, our reporter used the recording of the panel to write the article in question. The piece was then reviewed and edited by both myself and other editors before ultimately being published early Monday morning. Aside from the singular comment made prior to the panel that was later checked by the reporter, no member of our staff was informed that this event was intended to be in any way off the record at any point prior to publication.

That being said, we at Student Life apologize for the harm that was done, and have been in direct contact with those affected since publication. We hope never to harm an individual in this way and are in the process of reviewing our internal policies and procedures with regards to covering similar topics and situations. We are thankful for the feedback we have received over the past few days, and welcome any further inquiries or input at [email protected].

Thank you for your understanding and continued readership.

Sincerely,

Sam Seekings, Editor-in-Chief