In an organization that exists to publish such articles that are seen as too offensive or controversial for the official student newspaper at present, it is important to have standards to protect submitted content from a cowardly or conservative editor.
It is The Chevron's aim to publish all non-libelous content. Material may be left unprinted due to space constraints. If such material is time sensitive it will be published in the online edition only.
Any patently libelous content shall not be published. The Editor-in-Chief shall make the final decision regarding what is and is not libel, contacting a lawyer if necessary.
Any plagiarized content shall not be published. The submitter of such content shall be ass-paddled at the secret staff meetings everyone likes to fantasize we have.
Any content that violates Canadian or Ontario law regarding hate speech shall not be published. To be clear, this is speech calling for the victimization of a visible minority. Content that merely offends does not violate this policy.
All statements in a news story must be true, or reasonably believed to be true. All sources must be properly credited.
Anonymous sources may be used when the sensitivity of an issue merits it, at the discretion of the reporter. The Editor-in-Chief may decline to use an article with an anonymous source if he finds the reporter untrustworthy or the circumstances calling for anonymity overblown.
Gonzo journalism is allowed and encouraged. The Chevron recognizes that purely objective journalism is impossible, and provided they are factual the subjective experiences of a reporter are acceptable article content.
The Editorial Board is not permitted to withhold an article merely due to disagreement with the stance of the reporter.
An Editorial establishes a view of The Chevron. It is authored by one or more editors, and may only be published by a unanimous vote of the Editorial Board. Editorials shall be signed The Editors.
An Op-Ed (short for Opposite the Editorial Page) is an opinion piece by someone who is not part of The Chevron. Op-eds shall be published anonymously unless otherwise requested. Op-eds may be edited only for spelling and punctuation. If an op-ed is too long the Editor may request a shorter version of an op-ed, the Editor may also suggest changes to improve the style or flow of an op-ed but all changes must be made by the original author.
Op-eds should be coherent, take a clear stance, and defend it well.
The Editors may choose to publish an op-ed either in print and online, or only online. The writer shall be informed of the Editors' choice and reasons for it. The Editorial Board is not permitted to withhold an op-ed merely due to disagreement with the stance of the op-ed.
Op-eds shall be retained indefinitely. Anonymous op-eds shall be stored suitably anonymized.
Letters to the Editor may be addressed to the Editor or the Editor-in-Chief. Letters shall be published anonymously unless otherwise requested. Letters may be edited only for spelling and punctuation. The Editor may suggest changes to improve the style or flow of a letter but all changes must be made by the original author.
Provided that a letter does not violate the remainder of this policy, it shall be published on the website. Additionally, at the Editor-in-Cheif's discretion, letters may be published in a future print issue.
Letters shall be retained indefinitely as a part of the online archive. Anonymous letters shall be stored suitably anonymized.
An Editor's Note may be attached to a published letter to include an answer to a question about the paper, a factual correction, or additional information to clarify an otherwise misleading letter. Replies of this form shall reply only to things mentioned in the letter and shall be strictly informational.
Additionally, the Editorial Board may publish an Editorial providing a contrary opinion, should they disagree with the stance of the letter. Editorials of this nature should be published sparingly, and only in the case when the letter in question is severely in need of counterpoint.
The online edition of every printed issue will be made available on the website in a timely fashion. The original, unaltered PDF will be provided in addition to web versions of articles. Minor corrections such as spelling will be made to the article as needed. In the case of a major update (for example, a story being false) appropriate notice will be placed either in the footnotes or in a place & style warrented by the situation. The PDF will not receive corrections in the interests of transparency.
All submissions from 3rd parties will be kept so long as they are not spam or in violation of the other policies outlined in this document.
Photographs shall be relevant, interesting, and provocative. Photographs not associated with a story shall have a suitably detailed caption to describe the action and provide context. Photographs shall not be edited beyond a modification of colour levels to ensure print quality, and cropping that does not significantly alter the interpretation of the photograph.
Informational Graphics shall be to scale.
The Editorial Board may, by majority vote, select recurring comics for publication.
The Chevron may offer prizes for correct solutions to any problems published. The winning solution shall be selected by majority vote of the Editorial Board. The winner of such a prize shall be recognized in print and provided their prize via dead drop as soon as possible thereafter.
Awards and recognition must occur in the term in which the problem was posed unless otherwise discussed with the editor.
Unless otherwise stated, all content is released into the public domain.
Pseudonyms are permitted. If possible it is fun to have them reflect some aspect of the story. These pseudonyms are typically restricted to that of fictional names, dead persons or those that obviously did not write the article. The name above all must not mislead the reader. Caution should be taken with using famous persons as pseudonyms; David Suzuki wrote an article for the original Chevron.
If an author requests that their content be attributed, the Editor-in-Chief shall verify the identity of the writer. A special note will indicate that the author is not under a pseudonym.