Dear Ms. Dsouza et al.,
I have been thinking about writing the Stute staff since late last fall, when it was clear that this was no ordinary year for this college paper, or any college paper for that matter. Beyond the standard reviews, political opinions, and sports reporting, Stevens students were writing with stunning honesty about their lives and asking useful questions of the Institute’s administrators, if not always successfully cultivating sources or getting constructive answers. Then you published the most remarkable issue that I have read in over 40 years of such publications, at institutions ranging from private colleges to state universities.
Rest assured, you have all contributed to something special this year, and in particular with your Valentine’s Day edition on suicide and mental health. It belies the stereotype that engineers and their STEM peers cannot confront the unquantifiable messiness of the human spirit and life in general, but you have done so in a thoughtful and stirring manner. If you encouraged just one reader to seek help, you have done well. If your poll stimulated the staff of the Wellness Center to re-examine their efforts or marketing, or to engage in more dialogue with the students that they’re trying to help, you have done well. If you haven’t already shared your issue with Stevens’s peers or submitted it for the student journalism awards (Hearst, Columbia Scholastic Press, SPJ, Poynter, Associated Collegiate Press) that you so roundly deserve, please do so.
And keep fighting the good fight. Nobody in power likes to have their authority questioned, and you are already learning that with the decisions you have made. That The Stute’s email addresses are not part of Stevens’s email directory speaks volumes about your status on campus. But the role of a free press, the fourth estate, is to speak or write truly in a society where the powerful in education, government, business, religion, sports, and law enforcement help one another avoid institutional checks and balances. You are learning, and sometimes sharing, invaluable lessons in combating bureaucratic and clannish self-interest, which, like death, poverty, and taxes, will always be with us.
Thank you all,
Alexander B. Magoun, Ph.D., Industry Associate Professor
N.b. Opinions expressed are solely my own andโโโโโโ may not express the views or opinions of IEEE.
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