Newspapers have their heyday during election seasons, and The Hoya is no exception.

The Georgetown University Student Association executive election has dominated the news section in the past few weeks, with substantial coverage of the candidates and their platforms. Good use of digital media, including live tweeting the presidential and vice presidential debates and online exclusive stories, supplemented nearly a dozen front- and inside-page news stories.

Such extensive coverage of an organization that almost 40 percent of The Hoya’s own polling sample deemed less than “somewhat relevant” is warranted only if the newspaper provides reporting that is well-researched and journalistically sound. However, although the GUSA election coverage this season was sometimes clever and resourceful, it also occasionally suffered from a degree of clumsiness.

At times, the reporting seemed insular, with an unimaginative choice of interviewees. While the news staff was clearly careful to obtain feedback from all four executive tickets for their articles, the effort to reach out for comment often stopped there or soon after, with other members of GUSA being interviewed from time to time. Several articles would have undoubtedly profited from another perspective, and some even begged for one — the article [“Diversity Lacking in Exec Race,” The Hoya, Feb. 21, A1] on the lack of diversity in the executive tickets notably did not contain outside commentary from independent minority or women’s student organizations. Although the president of GU Pride was quoted, that president was also a GUSA presidential candidate.

A certain lack of context and analysis also plagued The Hoya’s GUSA election coverage. To the extent that interpretation was included, it was largely provided by the GUSA candidates themselves, rather than a neutral voice, rendering fact and perspective indistinguishable. The article [“Candidates Propose Budgets,” The Hoya, Feb. 25, A5] covering the candidates’ proposed budgets was a smart idea to inform readers about each pair’s priorities, and I commend the news staff on bringing the proposals to public attention. However, it would have been all the more enlightening had it included research into previous proposals.

A portion of The Hoya’s GUSA election coverage was afflicted by an overreliance on the views and stances of the GUSA candidates themselves. This was apparent not only in the preponderance of quotes attributed to the executive tickets, but also in the choice of issues raised. A professional newspaper will write about not only the issues the candidates bring up, but also the issues that are important to the voting population. Granted, this is difficult in a community like Georgetown that has a myriad of interests — not to mention an overall apathy about GUSA — but for the large part of the season, minimal effort was made to even pose the question to students. The one exception was an excellent online exclusive citing issues raised by H*yas for Choice and Sigma Alpha Epsilon, though it regrettably came out only a day before the election.

Finally, we come to the “State of the Race 2014” [The Hoya, Feb. 25, A1] article, which was based on a door-to-door poll conducted by The Hoya on students’ intended voting choices. There are several serious journalistic considerations to running a survey article. First and foremost, a story based entirely on a survey promises to be a weak one. Its news value is inherently limited, as it purports to disseminate the opinions of what is only a representative sample.

If a story is to be based entirely on a survey, it is imperative that the survey be a scientific one conducted by professionals. The Hoya does not have the resources to conduct a scientific survey replete with rigorous, transparent practices and statistical findings, but even if it did, it would have to ask itself what the value of such a survey would be. The role of a student newspaper should be to hold the candidates accountable and make sure they are addressing issues that actually matter on campus, not to postulate on the results of an election in which half of the student population generally participates.

I urge The Hoya to consider these grievances not only in future election reporting, but also in overall coverage. Obtain third-party perspectives. Incorporate context. And for the sake of all things journalistic, realize that the student-run poll provides about as much public service as the perpetual vote for Chicken Madness.

Editor’s Note: The poll Hong references sampled 772 students, or 11 percent of students eligible to vote in GUSA elections.

MICHELE HONG graduated from the School of Foreign Service in 2010 and serves as ombudsman for The Hoya. She can be reached at [email protected].