On Monday, The Sun hosted its second-ever Daily Sun Dialogue: Beyond the Byline. Through a moderated panel discussion and a robust Q&A session, we intended to bring Cornell’s newsmakers, news reporters and news readers together to debate sexual assault policy — one of the biggest issues that has faced our University this year.
There was no utopian solution devised, and contention over Cornell’s hotly debated new policy persists. This was certainly not the first or last public debate on this topic. The rights of victims of sexual assault must be protected, and so must those of the accused — the disagreement is one of method, not intent. The Sun has expressed opinions in previous editorials, but we certainly do not believe there exists a single “right” way to eradicate sexual assault from our campus. We can only hope that continued dialogue will lead us all closer to that end.
You have read about sexual assault incidents and policies in the pages of this paper. You have expressed your opinions through comments on our website, letters to the editor and op-ed columns. We continue to strive not only to deliver facts and divergent perspectives to you via our content, but also to provide forums for you to respond, challenge assumptions and interact with one another on this and other serious topics. So submit letters and guest columns. Tweet at us. Send us a carrier pigeon. We want to hear from you.
We extend a big thank you to the panelists who participated; to our own organizers; to our co-sponsors at the Cornell Forensics Society. We thank all of you who came out to lend your ears and voices to the dialogue; you can expect more of these events from us in the near future. The Sun cannot predict what conversation will next dominate Cornell’s campus, but we do know that it will be driven by the passionate and vocal members of this community. We look forward to whatever you’ll get us talking about come fall.
— R.L.H.