A week to forget

The old saying "no news is good news" is something I appreciate. Reason being, if things are standard and uneventful with nothing major, drastic or disconcerting happening, it's calming and relieving in the newsroom.

This past week at Marquette was not one of those weeks.

With our front page headlines at The Marquette Tribune partially positive and mostly negative, we were on our heels in covering some stories we'd rather not. At the very least, we weren't expecting them and our reporters and editors were excellent in getting them done on the fly.

The good first - the announcement David McCullough, a Pulitzer Prize-winning author will be our commencement speaker this year was universally praised.

Additionally, the announcement the university is extending benefits to domestic partners depends entirely on political opinion and thoughts on what MU should stand for.

But then the two big bits of bad news hit and overshadowed everything else. The first was the allegation that four MU student athletes were accused of sexual assault, with the incident allegedly occurring in Humphrey Hall. We're waiting to hear more details and saying anything more here would not only be a waste of space, but merely conjecture and irresponsible on my part.

The second was the trickled announcement about the University President the Rev. Robert A. Wild's tenure as provincial of the Jesuits in Chicago for a six-year period, and what he did or didn't know or allow about a pedophiliac priest. It went to the New York Times on the Monday and by Wednesday, following from the BishopAccountability.org website that had obtained all the documents, there was a press conference from the Survivors Network of those Abused by Priests (or SNAP) on campus outside Fr. Wild's office.

The story hit the newsstands on campus Thursday and it came up at the last Fr. Wild Forum that night. Personally, I felt very weird because I wrote the article and here was Fr. Wild, someone who I still respect and appreciate what he has done for the university, reading prepared remarks and apologizing.

There's no denying MU's standing has taken a hit on campus because of these alleged affairs, and with us also almost a year out from the Jodi O'Brien fiasco we're still in a recovery mode nationally from a PR perspective. We have to be honest with ourselves as a university and acknowledge our flaws, be up front with things, and not play in denial.

Being at the Tribune provides a learning experience for student-journalists - myself included - in more ways than one. And now, having the opportunity to cover these events exposes us to the stories that aren't all bunnies and rainbows. I guess I can say I'm thankful for that. That doesn't mean I have to like it.

Out for now, cheers.