The Pacer editorial board had originally intended to not endorse a party this year for the Student Government Association elections.
However, after much discussion, debate and differing opinions, a majority of the board members have decided to give our full support to The Real Deal Party.
Both The Real Deal and YOUniversity parties include a number of qualified candidates running for senator positions in the five colleges. After watching a replay of the recent debate, we discovered that both parties also have some candidates who are seriously misinformed.
Also, after studying the party platforms, we believe that the Executive Council candidates from Real Deal will best represent the entire student body. They already represent a more diverse cross-section of students than has been seen in candidates in the past several years.
In the interest of full disclosure, one of our biggest problems with the YOUniversity Party is its plan to “work to lower or change the Student Publications Fee into something beneficial to all students as most publications are electronically produced,” according to their official party platform.
Currently, the Student Publications fee is $7 per student per semester, a fund that covers three publications at UTM: The Pacer student newspaper, The Spirit magazine and BeanSwitch, the literary and visual arts magazine. Contrary to the inaccurate information that we believe has been deliberately fed to many students, we have not had a yearbook fee in several years and we do not print yearbooks — we print magazines, including the freshman magazine and the graduation magazine.
We’ve already made two voluntary cuts in our funding. First, we asked for our fee to be cut from $8.50 to $7 several years ago, about the same time that we switched from yearbooks to magazines. This year, we graciously gave up $100,000 of the money we had saved for other purposes to help provide much-needed new equipment for the Student Recreation Center. Members of the YOUniversity Party have called this money a “surplus;” this is simply not true.
The YOUniversity Party says that “most publications are electronically produced;” however, they fail to realize that commercial newspapers like The New York Times, The Washington Post, USA TODAY and The Wall Street Journal, all of whom have great online editions, still produce daily print issues. These are the types of publications that our staff members look to as role models for our future careers.
Student Publications is our learning lab, but, more importantly, we are the primary source for breaking news at UTM. We work to provide you, the students, with the latest details on what happens on this campus and beyond. We use social media efficiently to let students know what’s happening, so we also wonder why a YOUniversity candidate contradicted the party’s platform on using social media to connect SGA with students. Those who write news must learn to get it right; those who run for office should fully understand the issues and their platforms.
The YOUniversity Party also says they plan to “work with the Department of Athletics to increase team performance.” We’re fairly certain that no member of the YOUniversity Party has been hired by the Department of Athletics to coach any of the sports at UTM. And while we believe that athletics is an important part of student life, way too much discussion at the debate centered on this issue and not on other issues that we think are more important.
Also, each member of the Executive Council receives a full-ride scholarship. The president receives several additional benefits such as a meal plan, a staff parking sticker and more. How many students on this campus are receiving those benefits? We would venture to say not many, if any, and certainly none of us in Student Publications.
So we’ll end this year’s endorsement with a challenge and a promise. We ask all students to read our stories on the two parties and vote next week so that whoever wins will have a clear message about what’s important to the student body. Meanwhile, regardless of who wins, we will continue to be the watchdogs we are supposed to be.
The Pacer would like to clarify that even if it takes a stance in its editorial, located in the Viewpoints section, that does not mean The Pacer is abandoning covering news in an unbiased way. We are dedicated to following the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics, which includes seeking truth and reporting it. Like our commercial counterparts, media outlets are able to cover news in an unbiased way while taking a stance in the opinion section, which is an exercise of our First Amendment rights.
*We have eliminated a statement as we were notified of a correction by Assistant Director of Housing Ryan Martin that RA programs are not funded by student fees. We strive to provide correct information at all times.
My, my, Mr. Anadell, let’s show some maturity and try not to be so sarcastic (a/k/a “Your Holiness”). I don’t sign my name because I chose not to do so. All students have to pay fees for things you don’t necessarily use. Students pay for an athletic fee, but they may not go to the games, and many don’t. Students pay for the recreation center, but may not darken the door of the facility. But the students pay for these services because they are available to everyone.
The Pacer is only partially paid for by the Student Publications Fee. It’s available to everyone, both in racks and online. The students are in training to be the journalists of tomorrow. Part of journalism is editorial writing. Journalists certainly do have the right to express their opinion in an editorial. Newspapers also take editorial stances on issues and candidates. The Student Publications Fee was set a long time ago, and the Student Government Association has until recently supported that. Students pay the fee so the newspaper can be editorial independent from the UTM administration. That way, it won’t serve as a mouthpiece for the administration, and they can’t be told or controlled either.
I see you are a finance major. It might not be a bad idea if you did some research yourself on journalism and newspaper operation. It happens that I was a journalism major in college, and my minor was business management. I’m not stating “pearls of wisdom,” as you put it, but expressing my opinion in an online forum, which was created by Student Publications, by the way. Maybe the time and the resources didn’t come out of your particular fee for that, since you seem to object for it to be used for that purpose.
Please forgive my late response So we are funding the yellow journalists of tomorrow? Frankly your argument doesn’t hold water. The last time I checked, the athletic department and the REC center don’t publicly issue opinions on student government affairs. And I do wonder, how did you find out that I am a finance major? I have no problem with anyone knowing it, but I don’t exactly advertise it. By your comments I assume, and forgive me if I am wrong, that you are out of college. If that is the case are you a faculty member? If that is the case did you look me up to see what my major is? That doesn’t seem relevant to your position if you are a faculty member. You aren’t my adviser, and as far as I know I am not a student of yours. Are you singling out a student that considers your position idiotic? Basically, what I’m getting from you is that you won’t stand by your statements by signing your name to them, and you might be going beyond your scope as a faculty member if you are one. So yes, I stand by my sarcasm and “immaturity”, but at least I have the common decency to sign my name to it and not hide behind anonymity like a frightened child.
I’m mildly amused by some of these postings. First, it is not uncommon for newspapers to endorse a candidate or a position. In traditional hard copy newspapers, there is an editorial page for this purpose, which The Pacer has, both in the print edition and online. News stories in journalism are supposed to be factual, with no bias. The Pacer has those pages as well.
Secondly, regarding editorial endorsements, I have seen newspapers endorse a candidate in one election and when the same candidate ran for re-election, endorse the opponent.
The students who create and distribute the campus newspaper are not professional journalists – yet. They are in training to enter the field after they graduate. Some of the alumni have done very well, indeed.
Students can write online or write a letter to the editor to complain or express an opposing point of view. But that doesn’t mean that the paper cannot respond as well. I think it makes for a good discussion of issues from varying points of view. If one wishes to criticize, be prepared for rebuttals.
Finally, I seriously doubt that the newspaper staff “hated” Alex Wilson. I do believe that the editorial staff disagreed with him, but a lot of other people did too. As the president of the Student Government Association, which is an elected office, his skin should be a lot thicker. If the newspapers staff disagreed with Wilson, they weren’t alone. He was perceived as against many things that others were in favor of, so get over it, Mr. Wilson.
The Pacer students work hard. They have beefed up their online edition, improved their social media presence, converted the paper to a tabloid sized newspaper and are winning awards. It costs money to put out a newspaper, a magazine and a literary magazine. The student publication fee (NOT the “yearbook fee” – it hasn’t been called that for years) was actually lowered several years ago. Students pay much more in other fees than the student publications fee. As someone pointed out, money was given to help pay for upkeep of the new Student Recreation Center.
Is The Pacer perfect? Absolutely not. However, there have been problems in the past with lot of campus areas, including student government. One of the roles of the press is to serve a s a watchdog over government and the officials in it. When public officials act appropriately, then all is well. When they don’t, then the press is there to report the facts in its news, and express editorials as the deem necessary. But it doesn’t mean that the government or others will necessarily like it. That’s the way it is, and will continue to be, as long as this country has a First Amendment, which protects the free press.
Well, your holiness, if you are mildly amused and hold your views so strongly why do you not sign your name? The fact of the matter is that many papers endorse candidates, but I am not forced to finance those papers.As a UTM student, I have no choice in the matter. I am financially responsible for bankrolling the Pacer. So I do not think that it should take sides in student government affairs. The staff of the Pacer are entitled to their opinions, but not on my dime. Perhaps sit in on a business course before you make your next pearl of wisdom public knowledge.
Any member of this campus has the right to voice an opinion on who they would like to see become the leaders of our campus!! (whether they are an editor of the Pacer or not!) For those of you in SGA bashing the Pacer and saying that their hard work and effort on their publications is useless and that the Pacer should no longer be published needs to open your eyes and realize what you are saying! These people work very hard at what they do, and they do a great job of keeping our students informed. The people who write for the paper are journalists and as such, they have every right to publish informed opinions!!
Stop being rude and selfish and start respecting your constituents!!!
On one hand I do appreciate the Pacer’s honesty in supporting a candidate, however I cannot and will not say that a newspaper is right to do so. I think that a newspaper’s first and foremost obligation is to report the facts. The fact that the Pacer has come out in support of a particular candidate, speaks only to the opinion of the staff of the Pacer, and not at all to its objectivity. Frankly, knowing at few people on the staff myself, I couldn’t care less about your personal opinion. What I want from a paper that claims to be unbiased and objective is a reasonable and factual analysis of the facts. In openly supporting a candidate you open yourself to the fair criticism that the newspaper itself is a nepotistic rag. I know for a fact that at least one two members of the pacer staff are affiliated through another organization with the Real Deal party candidate. And therefore I do charge the paper with blatant nepotism. I don’t need the paper to think for me. I just need it to supply me with the facts. And I won’t sign anonymous. I’ll sign my real name as a concerned UTM student.I will say that I personally have no knowledge or reason to believe that Domanski has ever “beaten women”, and I think that you should provide a very substantial body of evidence before making such a accusation on a public forum. However I believe in objective reporting. And the pacer has dishonored itself by openly taking sides. WE DON”T NEED YOU TO THINK FOR US. In summary, in my personal opinion the pacer is controlled by an interlinked an nepotistic group of people, and it has no respect for objective reporting. In essence if it is the definition of a rag.
Dear Pacer, Why for the last 3 years have you continued to BLAST the REAL DEAL PARTY, yet this year you decide to endorse. Didn’t the pacer just last year say that The Real Deal Party needed to go? This seems to be a “flip-flop” issue, but your all professional journalists so I presume that is how journalism works. My second question is, why does the pacer staff always fights back every time a student voices their opinion on your page? Is this a UTM characteristic or do all large publications like NY Times, Washington Post, etc. fight back with the people that read and respond to their posts? If you are the going to be the voice of UTM then let people post as they please without jumping down every person’s throat that tries to say something different from you. Pacer writers and their adviser have hated me for years, I have not even spoken to most of you, but you still disagree with anything I touch. I support the YOUniversity Party (and of course since I do, then the Pacer doesn’t) but in the last 3 years I was still successful without the pacer endorsement, the reason why? I LOVE THIS CAMPUS AND I SUPPORT THE STUDENTS HERE, YOU SHOULD TRY IT FOR A CHANGE!
The only persons pride in the way of rational thinking is you. This has been evident over and over. I’ve always been a pacer fan and can promise I will not pick up an issue again.
You said “This has nothing to do with you; however, you continue to allow your pride to get in the way of rational thinking.” When you are saying that to someone who is voicing a concern in an article that obviously has a lot to do with downing that individual YOU are letting your own pride in the way. The opinions expressed and the underhanded attacks made the last few days have tarnished the reputation of the pacer in a big way. It’s ibviously understood that you cannot back the YOUniversity party because of the stance of their platform but when you twist things against them and make underhanded attacks at students then how are you as the UTM STUDENT SOURCE FOR INFORMATION doing the students anything well? Having an opinion is one thing and voicing it is another but you can obviously see that this has gone too far and The Pacer being an award winning paper should have stopped it before it reached that level.
While there have been many things said about this situation, I would like to make two points. As a woman who has known John Domanski for almost two years, as well as myself being a junior at UTM, I feel that I can speak on this topic.
One, not only does The Pacer succeed at reporting the news and hot topics as reflected by the majority of the students at UTM, but they succeed in doing so. They have won countless awards and trained many incredible hound journalists.
Two, John Domanski is a well educated, honorable man as well as a member of the US army. He is a gentleman that would NEVER dishonor a woman in anyway. He treats everyone he meets with the utmost respect and he deserves to be treated accordingly.
The Real Deal party is diverse, well educated, and has the best interest for the students of UTM. I hope that you go out and vote Real Deal on April 1st.
I personally take serious offense to being called a woman beater. If you actually believe that I would ever or have ever do that then I implore you to file a complaint somewhere rather than trying to trash my name with empty allegations. Before my father died he told me to always treat every woman with the utmost respect and to never touch one in a harmful matter. Those were his last words to me ever and I will forever stand against domestic abuse and never harm a woman in such a way. If you are getting this information from one of my exes maybe you should take the time to talk to me about it as well in order for you to get the full story instead. If you wish to talk to me about these issues in question I ask that you email me at johtdoma@ut.utm.edu. In all other context I will continue to run as a candidate for SGA President with The Real Deal Party and hope that any personal issues you may or may not have with me will be put aside until you talk to me to understand that I have never and will never hit a woman.
If you are so 1st amendment why are you screening our comments LET US POST !!!!!
The pacer just wants everybody to be stuck up their arse , but if you continuously post this crap my will dog continuously pee and poo on the Pacer as I house break him.
My dog uses the Pacer to pee on, literally y’all can go online nobody picks it up keep tweeting and create a Facebook page.
Sounds like the pacer needs to get their facts straight first!
This is so ridiculous. I can’t believe those in charge let this trash get published.
As a newspaper writer, you are supposed to be unbiased. As a senator running in the college of Business and Global Affairs, I personally do feel that it is a little childish of whoever felt the need to post this editorial. Also if you are actually here to inform the student body about the situations happening on campus and beyond then you would not be picking a side to support, you would respectfully be informing the students of who is running, the time, and the date of what’s happening. Not trying to bash one party and hope that you can persuade others to vote like you want. Also by putting the deal with the “Publications Fee” in the platform was not a direct hit at the pacer. If you all could see how many people actually don’t read the pacers that you all print and put out, you might see our side of the issue. But thanks for letting everyone know who you support, We made an agreement to keep this years election a clean election and it was going well until those of you writing for the pacer felt the need to get things stirred up. So as someone who represents UTM, I hope that you are proud of the drama you are causing…. Congratulations, you make students not want to read the pacer that much more…
In your comment you stated that you don’t think anyone made an agreement with her to have a clean election. I would just like to point out that senator candidates whom run with a specific party make up THAT party and we are a TEAM. When Jana said we agreed to a clean election, that does include her. It is a full agreement by all, not just the EC candidates. Just like you are defending your paper, she is defending her misinterpreted viewpoints and her team.
So much for a “clean” election. Oh, and I love to read the Pacer even more after all this.
Please allow me to politely pick apart this ridiculous editorial. I am unbiased towards either of the parties, am not affiliated with anyone in the YOUniversity party, and quite frankly am fed up with the Pacer. First off, newspapers are supposed to remain fair and unbiased, so The Pacer kind of shot itself in the foot on that one by backing one party. Instead of unloading this rash opinion on the whole student body, why don’t y’all get back to the task at hand and just report the news as is. If you really want to be professionals in the news industry you would see that is a major problem with the world today anyways. Next, you say that the YOUniversity party plans to reduce the publication fee so that the PACER may be electronically produced. That is true, but you do not have the whole story (shocker there!). The majority of their reason behind that is for the ridiculous yearbook fee that we pay each year when no student to my knowledge receives a yearbook. Going off of that, the $7 publication fee is definitely small but even justifying that is questionable. It would cut our costs down even more and allow the university to further is “go green” movement by cutting back on the amount of newspapers printed, because on my side of the campus the few that do get read end up in the trash rather than get recycled. Also of course those major newspapers do daily print, they serve literally millions of people every day. To compare the Pacer to those papers is like comparing my matchbox cars to the Daytona 500, come on now. Thank you to Ryan Martin for poking yet another hole in your argument about the RA’s. I cannot speak more on that. As far as your petty comment about any of them being hired to coach the teams, I believe any reasonable student could infer that they mean to have promotions to get more students at the games. I guess being a pencil pusher, having knowledge of the fact that the more people watch you and support the better you do probably escapes your grasp (see your awful newspaper). Lastly, you know as someone who has the gall and guts to stand up in front and be the face of the student body, the president probably deserves some special treatment. Being the student body president is a full time job and then some to go along with school work, so they deserve a few extra perks. But heck with a liberal rag school newspaper I can see where you would babble up some “we deserve it too” entitlement junk. I hope this is eye opening to the Pacer. If not, pull the blinders off and smell the roses champ.
*Shots Fired*
Y’all must do a lot of recycling then! Yay UTM Pacer!
John Deemanskee blows.
The Pacer always claims “Not to take a side” when it always does. Just for once, give adequate coverage to the student body and focus more on informing the general public about the election date and time. Worry less about your ego and desire to see your silly words published on a piece of paper. Your endorsement is only worthy of wiping my arse if the men’s room runs out of toilet paper.
My Apologies on the typo in my previous post. It should read “We are a self sufficient entity that is entirely funded by rent revenue. Thanks!
My name is Ryan Martin and I am the Assistant Director of Housing. I appreciate the editorial boards efforts in communicating their position to the students but I did however feel a need to clarify one statement in your article. RA programs are in no way funded by “student fees.” UTM Housing is an auxiliary of the University and as such we receive no funding from tuition or fees collected. We are self sufficient entity that is entirely funding by rent revenue. Keep up the great work at the Pacer and please let us know if we can ever be of assistance.