GUEST COLUMN: The dawn of a new era

If you hate the 'DP', Adam Mark wants to know-and he wants to do something about it. The Quaker basketball and football teams are the pride of the Ivies, admissions applications are skyrocketing and University President Judith Rodin has propelled Penn's image to new heights. Things are looking up -- or are they? Crime is pervasive on and around campus, dormitory living conditions are generally sub-standard, the proposed judicial charter is still up in the air and plans for the student center we have drooled about for eight years leave many questions unanswered. Maybe things are looking down. School spirit can stand in the way of our ability to separate clever marketing from cold truth. We cannot take everything for granted, or at face value, in the name of pride or presumptuousness. Certainly we can love our school and hate it at the same time. I adore Penn -- its people and resources and limitless opportunities -- but I am numbed by its inefficiencies and shortcomings. Indeed, the bureaucratic tangle on campus is a force to be reckoned with. But all of our problems cannot be blamed on institutional ineptitude. We students have minds of our own and problems outside of class. Only so many of our worries are educational in nature. Acknowledging these many concerns is the mission of The Daily Pennsylvanian. We cry free speech in order to bring to light issues that would otherwise remain unnoticed or be kept secret. The first step toward resolution our of problems is realizing they exist. Apparently, many of you love to hate the DP. Perhaps you do because the DP is produced by young, budding journalists who sometimes make mistakes. Indeed, inaccuracy is sometimes considered incompetence. Some of you think we are exclusionary -- that is, elitist. We were once, after all, an all-male and probably all-white organization. Maybe we come across as whiny and hypocritical. But as Theodore Roosevelt said, "It is not the critic who counts, not the man who points out how the strong man stumbled or where the doer of deeds could have done better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena." I didn't pursue this line of work in lieu of more "altruistic" causes like student government or tutoring neighborhood kids. I find journalism an equally valid kind of service to the community. Maybe you dislike us because, frankly, the DP isn't always exciting. Much of our fare is speeches and ribbon cuttings. And in between basketball and football coverage, we squeeze in swimming and squash. Maybe you think the DP is sensational. Tell a DP reporter that the milk is outdated at Wawa, and you're asking for a scandal. But it's all relative -- on a slow news day, spoiled milk is our Watergate. You might hate us because we have a virtual monopoly on campus news, and there's no other target for your frustration. Or it may be fashionable to hate the DP. Perhaps it's embarrassing to tote around a copy. I, too, look more refined reading The Philadelphia Inquirer. Some of you might disdain the DP because our headlines and stories tell you things that make you uncomfortable, such as "Gunmen rob three students." In fact, my father cancelled his subscription to The Weekly Pennsylvanian, the DP's weekly offshoot, because he was tired of reading about crime on campus. He took out his anger on our newspaper, and said if I cleaned up or marginalized such coverage, he might resubscribe. But we won't nix crime stories so he can sleep easier at night. Our obligation to appease readers doesn't extend to compromising what is news. The DP must strike a balance between giving readers what they want and what they need. If we gave some of you only what you wanted, the DP would be one giant crossword puzzle. Our objective is to keep you up to speed on campus events and issues, and to provide a forum for discussion and debate of hot topics. We don't try to upset you or stand above you, and we don't relish being disliked. Sometimes we lose sight of our audience, but we realize that we're learning as we go. And contrary to popular opinion, we don't think we know it all. As executive editor, I am the DP's liaison to the University community. I expect and appreciate feedback, and I want you to tell me what's on your mind. Just do me one favor, while you're at it. Try to be a little more constructive than "the DP sucks."