Students,

Recent events on campus have prompted the staff of The Northerner to scrutinize the Student Government Association more heavily than ever before, and have, we hope, led students to do the same.

The semester has been full of significant events and issues, such as a newly proposed SGA constitution, the impeachment and removal of one of the organization’s executive officers, this month’s election, and the recent disagreement between the SGA Election Committee and its advisers over the election results.

The Northerner considers itself a publication produced by and for students, and we try to cover events and issues of interest to the student body.

By that token, the staff considers itself to be a watchdog of both student government and the university administration.

We strive to hold student and university leaders accountable to the students for their actions to ensure that the student body receives the fairest representation and strongest leadership possible.

We consider it our responsibility to report the actions of SGA to the student body in order to encourage accountability within the organization.

No animosity or favoritism exists between the staff of The Northerner and the members of SGA.

Ours is a strictly professional relationship: They do their job and we do ours. Our job is to report on the events and actions of student leaders, particularly those in student government, who are in the most power to effect change for students.

While we do not always agree with the members of student government or their actions, we respect their position and strive to make our coverage of SGA as objective, fair and accurate as possible.