The official student newspaper of University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire since 1923.

The Spectator

The official student newspaper of University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire since 1923.

The Spectator

The official student newspaper of University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire since 1923.

The Spectator

EDITORIAL: Critics good for newspaper’s growth

Well, he certainly earns points for creativity.

In case you haven’t noticed the photo above of my smug little head, somebody obviously doesn’t like this column.

Either that or he sits downwind of me in some class.

Otherwise this anonymous critic wouldn’t have gone to such lengths to write “Nick Sargent blows goats,” in the second stall of the men’s bathroom in the first floor of Hibbard Hall.

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I’m really not insulted. It’s kind of a compliment when you think about it. Someone was so offended by my ranting and ravings, while they were in mid-bowel movement, whipped out a pen and scrawled a middle school insult on the wall next to him.

To be honest it’s kind of nice to know someone’s ticked off – at least we know he’s out there. The vast majority of feedback we get at The Spectator, The Speculator or what ever you choose to call it, is second, third or fourth hand. A friend or a friend of a friend gets told something and comes and tells us.

So scrawling a foul comment on the bathroom wall is actually an improvement, at least I saw it first hand. And after I finally flushed the toilet Friday afternoon and walked out of the stall with a hearty chuckle, (Boy, did I get some strange looks.) I realized how little we know about what you think.

We get rude comments from professors who don’t know we’re scattered in their classes, we overhear comments in the hallway and occasionally we make someone so mad they write in and let us know. But, during my four years here, it’s become more and more infrequent. There have been plenty of the “I don’t agree with this editorial or that opinion column,” but significantly fewer fair critiques of articles or people pointing out mistakes.

The Spectator is unique in the fact of the amount and frequency of the product it turns out without any “adult” (staff, administrator or professor) input. It seems there are a fair amount of people out there who think the staff is made up of a bunch of slack-jawed yocals, slapping a couple stories on the page and calling it a day.

There is a honest commitment by the students at The Spectator to do things the right way. However, most of the learning done here is by trial-and-error, so mistakes happen – and many more than the staff finds acceptable.

There’s also this “Ivory Tower” perception of the staff, that they sit in their office and look down on the rest on the campus.

The staff takes all criticism, even the fourth-hand stuff, and evaluates it. Anyone who has ever stopped by the office or has written a letter to The Spectator has been treated with respect and their criticism is taken in stride – at least since I’ve been here.

Which brings up another point. The Spectator’s staff is completely turnovers about every year-and-half to two years (except for a few stragglers like me). Mistakes seem to be repeated year after year because there is always someone here with something to learn.

This staff isn’t budgeted for an ombudsmen, so consider me your de facto representative to The Speculator staff. If you have an issue, feel free to call me, e-mail me, write me or even scrawl a rude message on the bathroom wall. Although both I and the janitors in Hibbard Hall would strongly discourage the latter.

And don’t worry, I really don’t have a thing for goats – honest.

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EDITORIAL: Critics good for newspaper’s growth