Coming Soon! Letters to the Editor
By Tirzah Hopkins
Hello, faithful readers! The NorthStar Navigator is proud to announce its newest section - Letters to the Editor! Let’s explain how this works.
Have you ever wanted to give feedback on an article? It could have been anything - praise, critique, a mixture of both. When one writes a letter to the editor (in this case, our beloved editor Caylee Lamb) it is often to point out something the writer of the article missed or got wrong, or maybe it was just your opinion that what they said was incorrect. It could also be a question about the article, something that seemed confusing or contradictory. It could be a question for the staff members, something you wish to point out. If it ever happens that something we write is anti-biblical, I hope you will take the opportunity of the Letters to the Editor section and ask us about it. It was most likely unintentional, but even so we’d like to know!
This could be very helpful for us when writing about events we didn’t actually attend. While those who write about things such as Spiritual Emphasis Event or the College Fair try to actually attend one or two of the sessions, we sometimes we don’t hear about events until after they occurred (like food fights or feasts), so what we have to do is interview the people who actually attended the event or those who ran it. Because we didn’t actually get to be there, our experience is imperfect and as a result, our articles can be. If you have ever seen us write about something that you attended but we didn’t, and you wished you could correct us on a couple things, now is your chance to do that for future articles!
There will, of course, be guidelines you should follow. The letters to the editor should not be some fiery hot, scathing critique about the people themselves in which you insult the editor and the writers or the people mentioned in the article. If you have a problem with the people or their worldviews, go to them about it, not the editorials. It should also not be a rude letter of any kind. We are very happy to have your critique or correction, but please word it nicely! We cannot publish anything that falls outside of NSA guidelines. That being said, all letters must follow the guidelines - speaking in a way Jesus would have, not referencing anything inappropriate or using explicit language, etc.
But on with the show. Where will you find this Letters to the Editor section? On the top, right up there with Time Machine, Article Index, Explore, Navigator Class, all those lovely places. And next to those will be the new section, Letters to the Editor! Click on that and it will take you to a new page where you can find the link to the google form where you will submit your letters. Make sure you indicate which article you are referencing, if you are referencing one.
We hope you take advantage of this new opportunity!
Tirzah Hopkins has been at NSA for about two years. She lives in Indiana, USA with eight of her eleven siblings and mom and dad. She has recently started writing for the Navigator. She enjoys spending time with family, hiking, karate, writing, and playing with babies.