The 2024 election season did not just begin in Mar-A-Lago, but also at the Cornell Daily Sun.
Following former president Donald Trump’s announcement, the Sun released an article documenting Cornellians’ reactions to Donald Trump’s decision. Unsurprisingly, most Cornellians interviewed in the piece were not thrilled that he is running again. Even if the Sun added a pro-Trump student’s voice to the article, the principle remains: it should not wade into the 2024 election.
First, it is far too early to determine whether Trump will be relevant in the 2024 cycle. As this piece is being written, he faces several legal hurdles, including the recent appointment of a special counsel to investigate his actions as president. Additionally, a new opinion poll has Florida governor Ron DeSantis closing the gap with Mr. Trump in the Republican primary.
But even beyond that, it is not the place of a campus-based publication to be covering national politics, especially nationwide elections. What differentiates a 2024 election news piece from the Cornell Daily Sun, or even this very publication for that matter, with the hundreds that will be written by mainstream and national outlets? Additionally, on a campus that voted for Biden by a 84-88% margin in 2020, it is foreseeable that most Cornellians would not want Trump to run again.
And with limited resources and time, a campus publication ought to cover topics which directly affect its audience. The recent midterm elections (especially down-ballot), crime, and Collegetown road repairs are issues Cornellians will contend with regularly. And in specific instances, national policies can also be relevant to campus policy, with notable examples being the Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals program and new changes in Title IX rules.
At its core, a campus publication serves students by delivering the news they care about, whether it be sports results or changes in university rules. With so many things happening on campus and in Ithaca, the Sun should not focus on a former president attempting to make a political comeback. More importantly, Cornell’s paper of record should focus on doing its job: delivering news relevant to Cornellians that they cannot find anywhere else. And it goes without saying, we don’t need to hear what another twenty-something thinks about an increasingly bitter septuagenarian.
This article was originally published in the Cornell Review’s semesterly print edition.
