The Student Life Forum section is unique in its mission to facilitate discourse between all members of the Washington University campus community. In light of the recent uptick in opinion submissions, the Forum editorial staff has decided to put together an outline of our editing process and journalistic goals. 

Forum serves to promote productive discourse about matters affecting college students. It should be a place for members of the WashU community to freely express their own beliefs and engage with the opinions of others. In a time of global crisis, we seek to maintain our presence as a space for these conversations. We aim to be transparent in our process and are always open to more submissions and suggestions from the community in which we serve. 

Some of Forum’s articles are published within specific categories. Opinion Submissions (previously known as “op-eds”) are opinion pieces written and submitted by members of the community who are unaffiliated with Student Life and are typically 500-1000 words. Letters to the Editor are opinion submissions that respond to other Student Life articles or to Student Life content in general. Staff Editorials exist to provide an additional perspective on key issues relating to the Washington University community. Staff Editorials are the product of the regular meetings of the Student Life editorial board, which is composed of editors from across the StudLife staff and operates separately from the newsroom.

A great benefit to being a platform for college students is that we are able to read and publish pieces from a diversely opinionated cast of writers. As a student newspaper, we are committed to publishing as many opinions as possible and do not curate based on any interests within Student Life. Forum articles, with the exception of Staff Editorials, solely reflect the opinion of the author or authors, not that of Student Life or its editors. 

However, unlike typical public forums on sites like Quora and Reddit, we edit and evaluate the content we platform, and we aim to use our best journalistic and moral judgment in what we publish. We approach Opinion Submissions and Letters to the Editor slightly differently than opinion pieces written by our staff, as we take extra care to ensure that the voice and central argument of an Opinion Submission or Letter to the Editor are maintained throughout our editing process. Every submission to the Forum section goes through at least three rounds of reads and edits. 

When we receive an Opinion Submission, our priorities are fact-checking (ensuring that objective events, policies, and facts are substantiated by reputable sources) as well as editing for overall clarity and consistency in the author’s argument. Some edits are required for publication; most are strong suggestions that are open to discussion with the author. We then send the piece over to the copy editing team, which reviews the piece for proper grammar, punctuation, and overall consistency with Student Life stylistic standards. Finally, the managing Forum editor, and occasionally, a majority of the managing team, read and leave edits on the article before final publication.

While we are committed to providing a place to share different ideas, beliefs, and views, this does not mean we will publish hate. As written on our website, “We reserve the right to reject opinion submissions for any reason or no reason at all. Reasons include but are not limited to factual inaccuracy, racism, sexism, homophobia, transphobia, or otherwise objectionable content.” As we read opinion submissions, we first ensure that statements are backed by a reliable source. We acknowledge that one’s interpretation or opinions of those facts can be subjective, something we consider as we discuss edits as a team. We edit every article to serve the interest of the author’s own intended argument while maintaining the journalistic integrity of Student Life. 

We see Forum as a space for respectful and productive dialogue, especially important in a time of global crisis. We invite all WashU community members to submit to us. You can send your submission to [email protected], or contact us at the same email for more information. We, as editors, are always looking for more perspectives to publish. In a world of condensed media, clickbait, and political extremes unable to converse with one another, we take our responsibility in maintaining the Forum section very seriously. Core to our section is the purpose of serving the WashU community, and we hope that complete transparency in how we operate continues to serve that goal.

Reilly Brady, Managing Forum Editor

Jasmine Stone, Senior Forum Editor

Sylvie Richards, Senior Forum Editor

Amelia Raden, Junior Forum Editor

Jordan Spector, Junior Forum Editor