We develop many passionate and diverse opinions concerning the various issues we cover at the University. As journalists, however, it is our job to leave out our biases in order to report the news fairly and accurately. The editorial section is our only outlet for expressing our own opinions, but we often feature the opinions of students in articles throughout the paper. This job often proves difficult, however, as many students are either unable or unwilling to adequately voice their opinions in this newspaper. It is no mystery many students are dissatisfied with parking on campus, but while gathering opinions for our article last week, several students were unable to elaborate upon their bold declarations that parking on campus is “bad” and “not good.”

If students feel passionately about an issue on campus, they should be able to word their opinions clearly and logically. Otherwise, we are not so sure students actually feel the way they claim and are not just hopping on the bandwagon.

We feel this applies to every aspect of life. People cannot possibly expect for their opinions to be heard if those opinions are voiced in no more than two words. Even if they can adequately express their opinions, they also cannot expect to be heard if they do not allow those opinions to be spread.

Often, students hesitate or shy away completely from having their opinions printed in the newspaper, claiming they do not want to cause trouble or upset people. If everyone felt that way all the time, nothing at Nicholls would ever change.

There is plenty to complain about at Nicholls, from budget cuts to high textbook prices, but if these truly are important issues, we feel students should be able to immediately offer a logical opinion and be proud to have it published for all to read.

On the opposite end of the spectrum, we think Nicholls employees a feel compelled to provide the relevant information students want to read in the paper.

Officials can claim there is an excess of parking spaces available to students on campus, but they cannot state, or at least choose not to state, the total number of spaces available. If they can provide estimates of the cost of individual spaces in a potential parking garage, surely records of the cost and amount of spaces for every other parking lot of campus exist.

We believe some employees withhold information from us to mislead our readers by not allowing us to tell the full story.

With the cooperation of both students and staff, we feel our job at The Nicholls Worth would be easier while also improving the quality of our publication for our readers.

So, if you have an opinion, proclaim it logically and proudly, and if you have important information people need, make it available.

We feel if staff members are willing to make bold claims, they should be able to back up their words with equally bold numbers and facts. Otherwise, we and our readers have no reason to believe them.