I was wondering what kind of checks that you, as Editor-in-Chief, are supposed to be making on the articles printed in your paper. Did you even read the cover story you printed this week? The article is titled “Making history one degree at a time” by your assistant sports editor, Noah Allison. It’s not only full of incorrect factual information, which grossly exaggerates the importance of Ms. Faulkner’s story, but it appears as though nobody even had the foresight to even run spellchecker, let alone read it.  Let me quote a few of my favorite lines from this piece. “Of the 1,500 students who have graduated from U of L with a master’s degree in bioengineering, Faulkner is the first African-American.”  Sounds great and flowery, right?  Too bad a few simple facts get in the way. I do not have all of the graduation records to verify that she is the first African-American graduate, but a simple knowledge of the history of our department would tell you that there are not 1,500 graduates. The Bioengineering department started in 2004. That first class graduated in 2009. The current class is one of the largest, and has about 30 or so students working towards their degrees. So, it is simply not possible to have 1,500 graduates of a bachelor’s degree, let alone a master’s degree. That number might be closer to 150 for the master’s degree, but even that is a generous estimate. And while I might be able to excuse that as a typo, it was repeated within the article.

Ready for some more quotable lines? “Her two older sisters live in Los Angelesd California is one of the largest areas in the country for the bioengineering industry so Faulkner plans to move out West for her career.”  Another doozy right here: “Faulkner attributes her success to the.” opportunities offered by U of e;LIt’s is a school that understands the importance of giving everybody atchance fot success and happiness, regardless of their origin or socioeconomic background.”

While there are very few students that actually take a publication like yours seriously, I would greatly prefer it if you did not sully the reputation of the Bioengineering department with your horrid writing. I realize that for most of your writers, this is a hobby.  My sister is a features editor at Kentucky Wesleyan College. But please, at least make an attempt at your jobs.

 

Tom Priest