COLLEGE Dean Edward Ayers' decision to remove PoliticsProf. James Sofka as dean of the Echols Scholars program continues to be a hot topic in the pages of The Cavalier Daily.
Senior writer Chris Wilson reported Wednesday ("Policy may afford Sofka future hearing," Feb. 2) that the University must follow certain steps when declining to renew employment for general faculty members like Sofka who are in at least their second three-year contract. The policy would not allow Sofka to protest his removal as head of the Echols program, but it could give him a way to contest Ayers' stated intention not to renew his contract.
On Thursday, Feb. 3, The Cavalier Daily published a lead editorial that called for an immediate hearing to clear up the situation, in order to allow Sofka, Ayers and their students to move on. The editorial was called "Resolving Sofka," but for The Cavalier Daily's readers the paper's role in covering this story remains unresolved.
A couple of readers have expressed concerns that the paper's coverage of this issue has been biased in favor of Sofka. An e-mailer accused the paper of "functioning as the public spokesperson for one side in this debate." And one fourth-year student wrote on Friday ("Rumors and reputations," Feb. 4) that The Cavalier Daily has failed in its coverage and "taken to making vague accusations about College Dean Ed Ayers and his 'arbitrariness.'"
Anyone who wants to discuss how objectively the paper has covered this story must examine what has been written on the News page separately from Thursday's editorial. News articles are not supposed to reflect the opinions of reporters; lead editorials are supposed to reflect the opinions of the Managing Board.
Looking strictly at the news coverage, The Cavalier Daily has reported this story as objectively as possible. All three news articles about this story show that reporters have made every effort to interview Ayers and other administrators, who have frequently declined to comment. Unfortunately, Ayers' hands are largely tied when it comes to speaking about the specifics of Sofka's removal as Echols dean because it is a personnel matter. That, however, doesn't prevent him or any other administrator from talking in general terms about how the University makes personnel decisions.
The e-mailer cited The Cavalier Daily's decision to "make news of this matter" as further proof of a lack of objectivity. Based on what I've read and a discussion I had with Wilson, the former editor-in-chief, the paper did not set out to destroy Sofka's reputation or to paint Ayers as a man looking for any excuse to get rid of him. The editors decided that the University community deserved to know why the administration chose to remove the head of a prominent program.
As for the lead editorial, I've said before that an opinion is naturally biased, but an editorial writer should support an opinion with facts. So when examining this editorial, it seems more appropriate to talk about fairness than objectivity.
The Friday letter to the editor said The Cavalier Daily appears to be publishing rumors. The letter Ayers sent to Sofka on Jan. 14, the letter Sofka sent in response and Sofka's first-hand account of his meeting with Ayers certainly do not qualify as rumor. The student who wrote the letter to the editor, however, seemed to be specifically questioning a statement that said "multiple faculty members have expressed frustration and discontentment at Ayers' handling of the matter." The student argued that the paper has never directly referenced any of these complaints.
In the Jan. 27 article ("Sofka letter asks Ayers for specifics of removal"), Politics Prof. Michael Smith said he was surprised at the way Sofka was removed from his position. Smith's statement seems like a direct reference to how Ayers handled the situation. Smith, however, obviously qualifies as only one faculty member. The Cavalier Daily's reporters could have talked to other professors off the record, which I hope they did if the paper is going to say multiple faculty members are frustrated with Ayers.
Finally, the same e-mailer who called the paper a public spokesperson for Sofka also criticized The Cavalier Daily for attaching the words "pervert" and "tyrant" to the main players in this story near the end of the editorial. The paper used those words to show how students may view the two professors right now, not to suggest that Sofka is a pervert or that Ayers is a tyrant. But I agree with the e-mailer that the Managing Board needs to choose its words carefully because, as the editorial points out, this controversy is still not resolved.
Jeremy Ashton can be reached at ombud@cavalierdaily.com.
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