General Information
BACKGROUND AND EDITORIAL POLICY
The Collegiate Standard is the intercollegiate online news magazine serving the universities and colleges in North and South Carolina. It is a forum for student, faculty, and alumni expression and is written, edited and managed by students, faculty and alumni.
The first edition of Collegiate Standard was published in 1977. It has been recognized for providing an atmosphere of free and responsible discussion and intellectual exploration of issues and interests of participating collegiate communities. The title began its operations representing colleges and universities in North Carolina and in 2021 South Carolina schools were added to the service community.
The editorials that run are the opinions of the Collegiate Standard and its editorial staff. The subjects and opinions are researched, determined and written by the editorial staff. The opinions expressed are not necessarily those of any student body and/or university — except where noted. Other commentary and opinion pieces published are exclusively the opinions of their authors, including letters, editorial columns and cartoons.
FORUMS AND COMMENTS POSTING POLICY
The Collegiate Standard encourages readers to engage with content and respectfully express opinions in the comments section. However, we reserve the right to remove comments if they are deemed by the Senior Editorial Staff as violating the outlined policy.
We encourage commenters to submit respectful comments that are relevant and related to the article. We also encourage commenters who may feel the content of other comments is in violation of this policy to flag the comments for review by the Senior Editorial Staff.
The Collegiate Standard reserves the right to disable the comment section.
Any of the following comments may be subject to removal from the website:
– Contains personally identifying information about the author or subject matter.
– Offensive or derogatory comments based on animus for race, color, national origin, ancestry, religion, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, sexual orientation, age, physical disability, medical condition, mental disability, marital status, pregnancy, veteran status, genetic information, or any other protected class.
– Incites or encourages violence or illegal behavior.
– Is determined to be spam or posted without relating to the content in the article.
– Violates copyright.
– Contains content deemed to be obscene or sexually explicit.
– Uses repeated profanity.
– Does not contribute to topics raised in the article.
– Defames a specific person or group (communicates knowingly false statements about a person or group, that injure the reputation of that person or group).
DISCLAIMERS
Editorial Matters
Perspectives or opinions expressed in the Collegiate Standard do not necessarily reflect those of any particular college or university, faculty or student body—unless specifically noted. Complaints concerning editorial copy should be directed to: editor@collegiatestandard.com.
Advertising Matter
Advertisements in the Collegiate Standard are inserted by commercial activities or ventures identified in the advertisements themselves and are not to be directly associated or endorsed by any college or university—unless otherwise noted. Advertising material included herein is solely for informational purposes. Publication is not to be construed as a written and implied sponsorship, endorsement or investigation of such commercial enterprises or ventures. Complaints concerning advertisements in the Daily Trojan should be directed to: ads@collegiatestandard.com.
Collegiate Standard Online
Reference to other websites, companies, and products on this page and elsewhere on collegiatestandard.com is purely for informational purposes, and does not serve as or imply any endorsement by any college or university. The Collegiate Standard, its contributors, agents and employees shall not be held responsible for any damages that occur as a result of the use of this website or any other sites or products referenced therein.
CODE OF ETHICS
The Collegiate Standard aims to provide students, faculty, employees, and alumni with vital information each day to allow them to better understand the colleges and universities in the Carolinas. We rely on truthful and comprehensive research to serve our readers with relevant information, entertainment and analysis. As an independent intercollegiate title, one of our primary roles is to serve as the watchdog of both students and staff of the colleges and universities in North and South Carolina.
Credibility
As a freely distributed title, we rely on our reputation to earn and maintain respect from our readership. If we violate that trust, we will lose readers and, in turn, our relevance. This Code of Ethics is designed to set standards for all staff members of the Collegiate Standard.
All stories must be backed by research in the style of the section. We do not fabricate quotes nor do we interview our friends for stories. We do not post on the comment boards of our own website. We seek perspectives from all corners, accurately representing diversity. We will always examine and report the full scope of an issue. We will present new information for students that they cannot find in other sources of news. We will engage readers with entertaining and thought-provoking stories that provide a richer understanding of the way things work on and around campus, as well as a sense of where they live.
Conflict of interest
Reporters should not cover organization(s) they are members of. Even if actual bias does not exist, it presents the appearance of bias because it is assumed that writers would only give positive coverage to their own group(s).
No writer should ever use the Collegiate Standard space simply to show support of a particular activity or event.
The Collegiate Standard fiercely guards its independence, and while we encourage and appreciate feedback from all readers, we do not risk that independence. Reporters should never think that they “owe” a person or an organization some sort of favor. In that respect, no Collegiate Standard staff member should accept gifts of value from sources (ie: tickets, clothing, lodging). This does not include tickets to entertainment and sporting events that are covered in the Collegiate Standard.
Enforcement
Staff members who have questions about this code should speak with a senior editor or the Editor in Chief. These are guidelines, not rules, but they will be enforced, up to dismissal from staff.
WORKING AT THE COLLEGIATE STANDARD
The Collegiate Standard hires student, faculty, and alumni writers, photographers, videographers, artists and editors—often on a contractual basis. For more information on positions available and how to apply, please contact the managing editor at managingeditor@collegiatestandard.com.