To the Editors:
It was disheartening to read the Orient's article on Trevor Powers and his subsequent arrest ("Season cut short for coach with OUI," May 7). While this might have constituted news in the New York Post, it is disappointing that an upstanding college newspaper has sunken to reporting on the personal situations of a former student and staff member. Unquestionably, the Orient has previously had the opportunity to report similar legal troubles of students and staff but has, properly, declined to do so, always taking the higher road of reporting on real news.
The story on Powers airs irrelevant dirty laundry, and was seemingly written solely for its tabloid appeal at the expense of Powers. The Orient is not TMZ.com. As the oldest continually-published college newspaper in the country, the Orient has a higher duty to uphold the lofty legacy set by its predecessors of engaging in legitimate journalism for the benefit of the Bowdoin community as a whole. This reporter should have followed the lead of Director of Communications Scott Hood, accepting that this matter was not one for college debate, but rather an unresolved legal and employment situation that is of the utmost personal nature. The Orient, and the college community as a whole, would be better served reporting real news instead of relying on the salacious appeal of tabloid journalism.
Sincerely,
Ben Yormak '06, Kat Popoff '08, Emily Krull '08, Beth Battin '09 and Kelly Keebler '10
To the Editors:
I am truly at a loss for words after reading "Season cut short for coach with OUI" (May 7). I question the purpose, motive and objective behind the story. As a Bowdoin graduate, I looked forward to reading the Orient for its upbeat and positive stories. I wasn't under the impression that the Orient was in the business of slandering an alumnus and former coach on arrest charges that have not yet been heard by a judge. I'm literally shocked that you went as far as to publish speeding records from 2003 and 2004 (and I'm still wondering for what purpose). I think this piece was way off base, particularly the emphasis placed on it. The editors of the Bowdoin Orient should resign from their posts. I think this is a pitiful attempt at investigative journalism, and I question if the editor even read the story, seeing as it contains very few details surrounding the incident aside from the fact that the incident occurred.
As editors, you have a fiduciary responsibility to your readers; I think you have overstepped your bounds in printing unsettled personal legal matters in a college newspaper. The readers of the Orient are not entertained by stories such as this one, as nobody wishes to be placed under the spotlight—particularly by the editors of the Bowdoin Orient. I think that has become apparent from the petitions circulating around campus. I truly hope that neither Mariya Ilyas nor the editors of the Orient ever find themselves in a situation caused by a lapse of judgment, but if they do, I hope someone is there to memorialize it in a newspaper.
Sincerely,
Mark Bulger '06