I think most of us can agree that the last few issues of the newspaper have been politically charged, starting with Derek Zarrella’s op-ed in the Nov. 7 issue and continuing with the rebuttal piece and the letter to the editor in the Nov. 14 issue. As the editor who received, read, reread and fact-checked these articles, which were printed in my section, I felt I should say something to address what has been going on.

It can be extremely difficult to read pieces of writing that contradict our own beliefs. I say this from the perspective of an editor and a reader. In today’s political world, opinions are strong and tensions between parties are sky high. This has been clearly reflected in the opinion section of our school paper. I am here to say that despite my own beliefs, it is my job as an editor to print opinion pieces that are supported by facts. That is why I diligently fact-check the articles that come my way. 

I think the issue that emerges is we are all so focused on what we personally believe that we react quickly to an opposing idea and we are quick to regard it as incorrect or misinformation. From my side, I can assure you the facts are true. Otherwise, I would not let them be printed. What we sometimes see as wrong and factually flawed is the opinion of the person who interpreted those facts. People have different ways of interpreting facts, depending on what they believe or who they support. The other side is typically going to argue against it and that is fine. 

When there is an opinion article, I can take out the incorrect information, but I cannot change someone’s opinion. That is the whole point of my section, and I will not apologize for the variety of opinions that we have a duty to include.