News judgment is a skill and an innate sense. Some people have it, some people figure it out eventually, and some people never grasp the concept. Lately, several have questioned the Daily’s news judgment. To that I can only respond that we have been completely justified in our coverage of Theta Xi and its statue issues. Christian Petersen is a major part of Iowa State’s history and character. “Fountain of the Four Seasons” outside the Memorial Union, “Conversations” outside Oak Hall, “Three Athletes” on State Gym, “Boy and Girl” in Parks Library – all are so recognizable to students, alumni, faculty and staff. Iowa State would not be the same without them. Maybe the people who stole the head from “Ring of Life” in MacKay Hall didn’t know the repercussions of destroying such a valuable piece of artwork. Maybe they didn’t realize how near to people’s hearts these works are held. Maybe they didn’t care and committed the crime because their fraternity has a thing for statues, but the Daily never said that. We don’t pass off subjective accusations that we can’t back up with facts or attributable evidence as news. We don’t report stories to bash the greek system. In fact, when we first reported that a student arrested in the theft and destruction of the statue, we didn’t mention he was a member of Theta Xi. We didn’t think it was germane to the story, but the Ames Tribune and Des Moines Register did. When a second member of Theta Xi was arrested in the case, we introduced that fact in the third paragraph of the story. At that point, we contacted the president of Theta Xi and the director of greek affairs for their comments on the two members. “They acted completely without encouragement from the house or its members,” said Bill Ogier, Theta Xi president, in Tuesday’s article. “Theta Xi doesn’t condone the action that they may have taken part in. . If they’re guilty, they made a decision that is detrimental to their membership in our fraternity. . It’s just horrible.” We at the Daily understood what Ogier and others in the greek system were saying about Nick Johnson and Quincy Jones – treat them as individuals, not as representatives of the greek system. And so we did. No where in that story was the fraternity or the greek system accused of playing any role in its wayward behavior. If two people from the same dorm floor or in the same apartment had committed the crime, we would have given them the same coverage. A few days later, we learned that the Department of Public Safety had confiscated two stolen lion statues from Theta Xi’s living room. That is when the fraternity came into question. As two non-related events, the two thefts would not have drawn much interest. However, because the two incidents were linked, it became news the ISU community deserved to know about. Because of the story’s prominent position in Thursday’s paper, the Daily became the target of greek-bashing accusations that were completely unfounded. We wanted to present the fraternity’s side of the story, but we found members and other officials in the greek system were unwilling to comment. Part of the reason the greek system appears to get such a bad rap is because members avoid speaking to the press. Now, we’ve learned that greek officials are telling members not to send letters to the editor. “We were asked tonight at our Panhellenic Council meeting to advise all of our members against submitting a letter of their own,” says one e-mail sent out Thursday evening. More astonishing, an e-mail from Interfraternity Council President Tom Duncan virtually condones theft. “I believe that there are other chapters that may have stolen property [i.e. road signs, parking cones, etc.] stored in various places in their chapter dwellings. Please take your chapter out of harm’s way by removing these items from your facilities.” This doesn’t support the arguments that other members of Theta Xi didn’t have any knowledge of these thefts. The Daily as a newspaper bears no animosity toward the greek system. In our newsroom, 17 percent of our 80 employees are members of fraternities and sororities. That doesn’t include the advertising, creative and technical and classified departments, which most likely have larger greek populations. I cannot say that no employees of the Daily have problems with the greek system. Neither can I say no employees of the Daily have problems with the administration. Students on this campus may be bitter toward any number of groups. Some may rightfully feel oppressed by that, but I don’t believe member of the greek system are oppressed. No one is born into the greek system and therefore into a life of anguish. I’m not against the greek system. I have learned much about it from one of my best friends and gained a new respect for it. I would have more respect for the greek system if members didn’t point the finger of blame at the Daily when something bad happens within their community. We’re not picking on you, and we’re not trying to drag your names through the mud. We’re simply trying to report the news to our audience – the entire ISU community, of which the greek system is but one part.