In the past weeks we have seen a flurry of presidential endorsements from newspapers across the country. The New York Times has endorsed John Kerry. The Chicago Tribune has endorsed George W. Bush. The Boston Globe has endorsed John Kerry, and the list goes on. How much of an effect these endorsements have on public opinion, and in return, have on the newspaper is yet to be seen. But we at The Spectator have chosen to go the route of The Los Angeles Times – to refrain from endorsing either candidate.

The reasoning is simple. An endorsement of any kind jeopardizes our mission of objectivity. We see it as our responsibility to present the facts clearly and without bias, so that you, the reader, can make an individual decision that is informed.

While many of these notable newspapers that have made endorsements have the resources to divide their newsroom into a news staff and an editorial staff, we do not. We are an editorial staff of 23 students, and many of the same people who report the news on the front page are the same that make up the majority opinion of the editorial board that appears on this page each issue. An endorsement would make the preservation of our ethics an impossibility.

Furthermore, we are students and we are still learning just as the rest of the student body is. We are no more qualified to endorse a candidate than our readers. And regardless of which candidate we might choose, roughly 50 percent of our readership would still say we are wrong.

This is why, in an effort to preserve journalistic integrity, we are abstaining from the editorial tradition of endorsing in this presidential election.

In fact, we implore newspapers everywhere to do the same. In a time when much of our information comes from manipulative political pundits, newspapers must remain the unbiased, objective news source that the public needs. The Spectator will continue to strive to be that news source for UW-Eau Claire and our surrounding readership.