Challenging the University to remain accountable

Former Chancellor James Moeser said Friday he’s angry with the media for targeting UNC and mocking the Carolina Way, tarnishing its nobler purpose by taking “pleasure in bringing people down.”

I get it. This University that he’s a part of — and was once the public face of — has recently undergone a series of devastating scandals that made national headlines.

You could say that’s the media’s fault — for exposing the University in that way, for hanging its dirty laundry out the window for everyone to see.

But I disagree.

It’s the media that has simply brought some things to light that shouldn’t have happened, shouldn’t have stayed behind closed doors.

And it’s brought them into a venue where now, in my own optimistic opinion, they can be addressed, with greater transparency and accountability.

As student journalists at The Daily Tar Heel, we’re charged with an interesting dual responsibility — one that asks us to stay objective and detached in our reporting on the University while still remaining a part of it.

Even within that role, I love UNC as much as anyone else. I have the stickers on my car windows, the old acceptance letter yellowing in my room at home.

But that love doesn’t have to be unconditional. It shouldn’t be.

Being a student or a fan of the University isn’t mutually exclusive of being a critic. Unearthing bad news isn’t targeting the school. Exposing the truth and fulfilling the public’s right to know isn’t slandering an oft-touted motto.

And not carrying out our dual role wouldn’t be doing a favor. It’d be a disservice.

It would allow things like the mistreatment of housekeepers or the alleged mishandling of sexual assault cases to remain hidden in the shadows, tucked behind our shouted adoration for this institution.

In his interview, Moeser said the Carolina Way stems from “the idea of achieving excellence while maintaining the highest level of ethics, fair play and playing within the rules.”

But the definition should stretch beyond that. It should be less about putting up a front of high standards and good ethics and more about maintaining them, even in the face of controversy.

In its purest form, that’s what the media does. It challenges the University to remain accountable, asks it to meet the high standards it touts. It questions and seeks the truth, then delivers it.

It keeps the University playing fairly and within the rules.

It’s optimism and a belief in this University that fuels the need to challenge its shortcomings and hold it to a higher standard.

And regardless of how it turns out, that’s what this media organization will continue to do.