Staff Editorial
The Rocket’s editorial board consists of anyone that gets a paycheck on the staff, with the exception being the advertising department. The board meets weekly to discuss current issues affecting students. From these issues, a topic will be selected. The editor in chief usually writes the majority opinion as the staff editorial each week, although other editorial board members are welcome to write it. These editorials will be the Rocket’s official stance on the issues considered by the board, and they are to be unsigned.
That staff editorial should not be used as the forum for rebuttal of letters to the editor or other criticism; however, it maybe be used to clarify the position of The Rocket or to correct blatant misconceptions about newspapers in general or The Rocket, in particular. This should be used rarely and with caution.
Columns and Editorials
Columns and editorials may be written by regular staff members, guest contributors or faculty/staff members. Columns may be assigned by the editor in chief or the section editors. Columns and editorials are signed statements of opinion, and should reflect a variety of viewpoints. Students, faculty, staff and administrators at Slippery Rock are encouraged to submit interesting, pertinent or humorous columns or editorials. Anything submitted may or may not be published at the discretion of The Rocket staff. Column and editorial length is at the discretion of the editors will be edited for style, spelling, and clarity. A name, class rank and major must accompany unsolicited columns. Columns and editorials must follow the policies of The Rocket, as well as all applicable laws.
Letters to the Editor
The Rocket welcomes letters to the editor. The length of the letters will be left to the discretion of the editor in chief. The Rocket reserves the right to not print all letters. The Rocket reserves the right to edit for libel, style, spelling, and clarity. All letters use the signed must be accompanied by a name, class rank and major. If not a student, please clarify hometown and email address. Anonymous letters WILL NOT be accepted; names may be withheld at the request of the author only in extreme circumstances, as determined by the editor in chief. Letters submitted by email must come from a verifiable email address. Letters are subject to verification. Staff members may not submit letters to the editor. All letters exceeding 500 words in length may result in disqualification from potential publication. The editor in chief reserves the right to make all final decisions regarding letters to the editor.
Letters to the editor may not be used as a forum of response to a previously written letter response.
The Blotter
Part of the News section’s responsibility is collecting and reporting information regarding the weekly police blotter. All information included in the blotter is obtained directly from the police station and printed as received.
All information in the blotter is final. The Rocket will retract misprinted information by the staff but is not responsible for republishing incorrect information provided by the police. The Rocket is not responsible for following up with charges printed in the blotter. Under no circumstances will The Rocket remove, modify, or edit archived blotters from the web.
The above policy also applies to The Rocket staff.