To our Readers:
Last Friday, the Orient was contacted by Student Activities with a request from Passion Pit's agent to remove our January 29 article, "Passion Pit accepts bid, scheduled for Ivies show." By publishing the bid prices (not yet signed into contract and not protected by a nondisclosure agreement) for the spring concert performers, our article had allegedly created a price ceiling for other offers on Passion Pit, and this was problematic for the group.
In response to the band's request, we refused to remove the bid price from the article, let alone the article in its entirety. Our decision comes explicitly from the Orient's Web non-removal policy: "The editors, in consultation with more than a half-dozen professional journalists and journalism scholars, have determined that all requests for material alteration or removal will be declined."
This is not the first time such a request has been made. We've received requests for material to be removed—for example, an alum looking to remove a name from a letter archived online—and we've consistently denied such requests. Our standards are clear: "The policy has been created under the ethical premise that history should not be revised to fit private interests."
We would set a dangerous and unethical precedent if we were to remove content by another's request, whether for a potential performer or loyal alumni of the College. Not only would it put us on a slippery slope for further requests and subjective judgment calls, but it would suggest that an outside party can dictate the extent of our news coverage, thereby restricting our editorial and journalistic agency.
Sincerely,
Will Jacob and Gemma Leghorn, Editors in Chief