A Statement from the Opinion Editor

There has been some so-called controversy coming out of the office of President Michael Rao. He has recently required his staff to sign an unusual non-disclosure agreement barring them from speaking about any matters pertaining to VCU, him and his family.

Little detail about a potentially controversial issue has led the local media to predictably speculate and blow a very underdeveloped story out of proportion.

Anytime we as either students, residents of the Richmond community or as Americans hear of potential controversy in the offices of the powers that be, we waste no time harping on or cynically scoffing at whatever we hear, whether it is speculation or solid fact.

President Rao requiring his staff to sign a confidentiality agreement is fact; everything else is speculation.

This statement does not defend the use of this confidentiality agreement but urges those to consider possible extenuating circumstances for the necessity of it. If the media and people alike can dream up possible unfounded reasons for the agreement, it can surely think of reasons where it may be appropriate. The latter, however, is a choice the media has not taken, and in the interest of ratings and profit, cannot consider.

For anyone who has held office for only 16 months, the best mindset the community can have with regards to President Rao’s actions is positive intent.

Those who have been doing the most speculating who want to play the transparency card are implying that President Rao is abusing the system for personal gain all without actually saying it. While more transparency is always better, there are exceptions, and they exist because in some cases, the public does not react well to the truth.

As badly as the media needs its ratings, readers and page views, it must realize that this is a classic case of “wait-and-see” journalism. It is the main reason the Opinion section at the Commonwealth Times has initially decided not to feature this topic in a column.