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Opinions Guidelines

The Opinions section provides a forum for diverse opinions on topics of interest to the St. Joe’s campuses and surrounding communities. All content in this section must be factually accurate, devoid of hate speech or personal attacks and must seek to advance productive dialogue on a given topic.

There are four primary types of content in the Opinions section: editorials, letters to the editor, staff columns and guest columns.

Editorials are written through consensus by The Hawk’s editorial board. Editorials address contemporary issues the board believes to be relevant to St. Joe’s campuses and surrounding communities. The board consists of the Opinions Editor, Opinions Copy Editor and Editorial Editor. The content written in editorials reflect the majority view of the editorial board. When the board does not achieve consensus, individual board members are free to present alternate viewpoints. Editorials are edited for accuracy, clarity, length and adherence to The Hawk and Associated Press style, in accordance with professional journalism standards and best practices. 

Letters to the editor are submitted by students, faculty, staff and other members of the St. Joe’s community. Letters can address and respond to content recently published in The Hawk. Letters to the editor are fact-checked and lightly edited for grammar and punctuation. Letters must be accompanied by supporting materials, including hyperlinks to generally accepted, authentic sources. Letters should be no longer than 200-250 words in length and must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on the Saturday prior to publication.

Staff columns are written by The Hawk staff columnists. Staff columns adhere to The Hawk and Associated Press style, in accordance with professional journalistic standards and best practices. Columnists generally write on a designated schedule and focus on a specific theme. Students who are interested in applying for a staff columnist position should reach out to [email protected] for additional information.

Guest columns focus on timely or newsworthy events of interest to the larger community. Topics could include personal narratives and reflections; local, national or international issues; and recent scientific or technological news. Columns from St. Joe’s faculty and staff are generally designated as “Ad Hawk” columns. Guest columns cannot serve as a response to another previously published piece and must be supported by hyperlinks to generally accepted, authentic sources. Guest columns are edited for accuracy, clarity, length and adherence to The Hawk and Associated Press style, in accordance with professional journalism standards and best practices. Guest columns should be no longer than 300-350 words in length and must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on the Friday prior to publication. 

Submission of a column or letter to the editor does not guarantee publication. Writers should be prepared to work with the Opinions Editor throughout the editing process. Please send all submissions to [email protected].