The Coyote Chronicle has served as the independent, student-run voice of California State University, San Bernardino since 1965, and the Chronicle editorial team is committed to providing fair and accurate reporting for and about our campus community.

Our responsibility goes beyond just reporting what happens on campus, though. We also must consider what news to cover, how to cover it, whose voices to represent, and how our coverage affects readers and the campus community.

The Coyote Chronicle uses the Society of Professional Journalists’ Code of Ethics as a foundation for all our reporting. The Code establishes four guiding principles: Seek Truth and Report it, Minimize Harm, Act Independently, and Be Accountable and Transparent. Last week, a story unfolded that required us to navigate tensions between the public’s right to know and a family and the campus community’s need to grieve.

On Oct. 2, a CSUSB student was found dead in a campus housing facility, and the Chronicle published an article about this tragic incident the following day. That reporting has prompted criticism of the Chronicle, including a petition calling for the removal of the reporting. In that petition and other social media comments, some readers have objected to what they consider the story’s “insensitive” tone, an on-the-record account from a student resident who reported an odor in the residence hall, and an accompanying Instagram post, which flagged the story as “breaking news.”

We reached out to Iris Soto, who organized the petition, and she expressed concerns about privacy, consent, timing and the impact of the coverage on those grieving.

“This is not about preventing information from being reported,” Soto wrote. “It is about expecting sensitivity, accountability, and respect when reporting on someone’s death.”

We recognize the grief that many are feeling right now from this tragedy, and extend our condolences to the student’s’ family, friends, and all who were personally affected by their loss.

However, we are not removing the article, and we want to use this space to explain that decision.

The death of a student in campus housing is tragic but also news. Hundreds of CSUSB students live in university-managed facilities like Arrowhead Village, and their families trust the institution with their safety. As such, the campus community had a legitimate need to know what happened and whether others were at risk. Without timely, accurate public reporting, rumors can spread quickly and perpetuate fear and misinformation.

Our student reporter acted quickly to – as the SPJ Code says – “Seek Truth and Report It.” She obtained on-the-record accounts from residents that described what they had observed and, yes, smelled. She cited official university communication that clarified an important matter of public concern – that there was no threat to other students. And she cited from that same communication university administrators’ condolences to the student’s family and friends. None of the facts of the reporting have been legitimately challenged.

In keeping with the SPJ Code, the reporter and our editorial team also made ethical decisions intended to “Minimize Harm.” We crafted a headline – “Student found dead at Arrowhead Village” – that did not sensationalize the incident. We also included at the end of the story contact information for CSUSB’s Counseling and Psychological Services (CAPS) office for students needing support.

Most importantly, though, we did not publish the student's name in the initial report. This was because, at the time of publication, it was not clear whether the university had notified the family, and no one wants to learn of a loved one’s death from a news website.

The university – not the Chronicle – subsequently notified faculty and staff of the student’s identity via email and provided some brief remembrances. President Gomez has also done so via an Instagram story.

While individuals identifying themselves as relatives of the deceased student have expressed concerns on social media, as of publication, we have not received any direct communication from the student’s immediate family in regards to our coverage. The CSUSB Office of Marketing & Communications has also confirmed that they have not been contacted as well.

A Coyote Chronicle Instagram post communicated much the same information as the article – that a student had been found dead, there was no immediate threat to others, and that university administrators expressed their condolences. That post has been criticized because it flagged the story as “Breaking News,” and the caption included the phrase “News Alert” and siren emojis.

At the time of publication, the story was, in fact, breaking news that the campus needed to be alerted of. And on social media, where both highly consequential and mundane news are often given equal prominence, phrases like “Breaking News” and “News Alert” can be helpful to draw users’ attention to news they need to know, including a death on campus.

That said, we understand that these phrases are also associated with sensationalism, and some readers found them inappropriate for reporting on a student death. The Chronicle will review its social media guidelines to ensure that important stories like this are also presented respectfully.

We respect our readers’ rights to question our editorial decisions and invite them to express their disagreements with our coverage to us. Hearing that criticism and – where legitimate – responding to it is an important part of the accountability we owe our campus community.

At the same time, journalism carries an obligation to report events of public significance, even when those events are painful. Not every headline we publish will be uplifting, and not every fact we uncover will be welcome. But we will continue to strive to report the news fairly, accurately, and with consideration for the people’s lives that news impacts.

The Coyote Chronicle stands behind its reporting and remains committed to the ethical principles that guide our work. We will continue to serve the CSUSB community with independent journalism grounded in truth, equity, compassion, and accountability.

— The Coyote Chronicle Editorial Team