Editor,
Like any former journalist perusing the pages of a student newspaper in search of that tingling sensation I get after reading good leads and headlines, I opt not to comment. My standard practice is to read the editorials and commentaries, laugh at the proverbial fanning of the flames and move on.
However, as a master's student in the Communication and Journalism Department, I find it difficult not to add a few points of clarification to the accreditation debate.
First, to attack Brad Hall, chairman of our department, and accuse him of being lax in his duties in any regard is simply unfair and untrue. Regardless of the department's decision, communication and journalism faculty, staff and students could not ask for a better chairman. Journalism faculty members reviewed the situation and made a proactive decision in light of circumstances unknown to the rest of the campus.
As a journalism instructor with only minor concerns about the accreditation, Brad Hall dissolved any qualms I held when I walked into his office the morning the stories broke in the Journal and the Lobo. He explained what had happened, what was going to happen and how it affected students. I was then able to relay that information to my students, and hopefully ease some of their initial frustration or shock.
Second, the articles in the newspaper present an interesting lesson for all journalism students. Although the articles present the facts of the situation, not much in them includes information about the nature of accreditation or its true importance to the education process of journalism students. There are certainly no references to the fact that roughly 74 percent of the 400 professional programs in the United States are not accredited.
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Lastly, the process is a voluntary self-assessment. For most, voluntary refers to free choice and not those things that are mandatory or required. Essentially, accreditation is nice to have, but not necessary in the larger scope of the education students receive here at UNM.
I am not saying that students, community leaders and others should not criticize this department. I am all for criticism, so long as the criticism is constructive and accurate. However, the fable circulating among students and the community that this department is two steps shy of being six-feet under is simply a fallacy.
I will start to worry about accreditation affecting journalism students' ability to gain employment when the University of New Mexico loses its accreditation, but only after I contact UNM President Chris Garcia to get to the scoop.
Keena Neal
UNM graduate student
