As a senior at Syracuse University, I have been a consistent reader of The Daily Orange for three and a half years now. It has been an efficient way to keep up with student affairs, sports statistics and general knowledge pertaining to the city and university.

I have regarded the publication as an unbiased, informational outlet that in no way intends to be slanderous or harmful to the students or citizens of Syracuse. When I saw Monday’s front-page article, “Two players spend night in county jail,” it was a jarring experience.

Marquis Spruill is a good friend of mine, and I had been in the loop about the party, the appearance of the police force, the arrests and the accounts of the night from many different witnesses. The story published in The Daily Orange struck me as unfair and extreme, not only because it was on the front page with both players’ roster pictures but because of the unnecessary addition of Spruill’s Instagram account.

I understand that police reports are public and the writers covering this article were doing their jobs as journalists, but I feel the story was rushed to be published and facts were not sufficiently checked. Spruill’s name was tarnished for anybody who read this prior to knowing him, an incredibly unfair first impression.

He is a person with motivation for success, well-rounded and eclectic interests, and heart not only for the game of football but for all of his friends and family that surround him. Spruill wouldn’t hurt a fly. I think his response to this and other publications that arose Monday shows a lot of maturity, and if we’re still bringing up social media, this is a direct quote from Spruill’s account: “Everyone who knows me knows exactly what type of person I am and appreciate all the love and support y’all have shown me and to those who don’t I can’t fault y’all for believing the lies the media has created just to juice up their articles so I forgive y’all. I’m here grinding trying to better myself in life and that’s exactly what I’m gonna continue to do…”

Reading the article on Spruill and Steve Rene made me question the intentions and motivation of The Daily Orange. As an entirely student-run publication, I believe it should at all times have the best interest of each student in mind, even if that means losing or delaying a story.

Sincerely,
Emily Maloney
Class of 2013
English and textual studies