I have resisted the urge to write about this newspaper, and its role in the university, before my tenure ends in May. For one, the story is not over, and two, I had hoped we would remain the neutral arbiters of the campus’s current events. More and more I have realized that The Criterion has become more a topic of conversation than the events it reports on. That deserves a response.

The Criterion is different this year, I am sure you have seen, have heard, or I hope, have read.

It’s “negative.”

And to be fair, considering previous years, The Criterion is certainly not as positive as in years past. The news section used to be filled with campus events, not assault charges and institutional concerns. The opinions section used to be filled with movie reviews, not editorials critical of the university’s direction.

The Criterion, in past years, was either too scared or too apathetic to question and investigate how this university operates. People could not care less when you’re not reporting on them, and hey, you get paid the same. But when I walked into this newsroom for the first time, I felt we could do more.

Why are things the way they are at Colorado Mesa University? Where does the money go and who makes the decisions? Why are many faculty members afraid to speak up on issues that affect them and their students?

Answering those questions is the role of a newspaper, especially a student-run newspaper. If we don’t speak up, who will?

Some students don’t care about this. They would rather go to class, go to parties, go to events and not be reminded that their world isn’t perfect.

I understand that as well. My day-to-day life would be a lot quieter if I stopped asking questions. However, it is our responsibility to ask where the money we give the university, the student fees, the tuition and even the loans we take out are going. As well as to be critical of it.

A story that says “CMU is boring” is certainly not going to be popular. People want to be proud of their school. It’s home. It’s where their friends are and where they may make some of their greatest memories.

I understand this.

By the time you graduate, you’ll probably spend around $700 just in student fees. Money that funds The Criterion, the Programming Activities Council and the student government. We have taken a critical eye to those groups and students, in turn, have cast a critical eye upon us.

That is the intent of our work: to ask if your fellow students, your professors and your administrators are being the best that they can be. Because without all of you, none of them would have a job.

To those who say The Criterion is only negative: if you’re only looking for negativity, you’ll find it. However, the positive articles are out there, filling our sports, art and life and even opinion section. You just may not be reading them.

The Criterion is not perfect, nor am I, but I can promise you this: Criterion editors and writers want nothing more than to write the facts, as accurately as possible, and to voice concern when it is warranted.

This is your newspaper. This is your university. It’s your money and your time. Accepting our flaws and improving upon them, and celebrating our successes, will only make things better.