As the news editor of my school’s student newspaper, I have been kept busy this week with the announcement last Friday that one of the University’s alum and former commencement speaker, Doug Perlitz,  has been indicted with charges of sexually abusing children in Haiti. He had started a school in Haiti to help the kids there, and received almost $2 million in donations from the University community over the past years. Several key members of the University were on the board and the former director of campus ministry was closely tied to the school. Now, the University has no direct involvement in the Haitian school or the Haiti Fund, which was set up to support the school. Nor are they currently willing to speak about anything that they may know.

Members of our staff have worked hard this past week to speak to administration and find out what is exactly going on and what the University knows about the situation. They will only comment off the record. Father Carrier, the former director of campus ministry, is currently mia..no one knows where he is. Or, no one will say where he is. It is being speculated that the University is trying to cover up his whereabouts. At mass this upcoming Sunday, the University plans on speaking to the students about the situation. No press allowed. So where does that leave me?

As a student, I have a right to attend this mass and find out more about the University’s stance on this matter. As an editor for the paper, I also have the right and they duty to report the story as it is, not as how the University wants people to see it. The president of the University issued a statement on Wednesday, the day after the paper goes to print.

This whole ordeal, plus a conversation I had with one of my friends last week, has made me think a lot about the notion of freedom of the press. My friend and I got into an argument about the American press versus European, specifically British, press considering we both studied abroad in Europe. British press is very much to the point whereas American press is sometimes very biased and very controlled. As consumers, the media often directs us towards a certain type of news or story-consider the entertainment industry.

I am intrigued to see how this will all play out in the coming weeks and whether or not our roles as students and reporters will somehow be compromised or questioned.