As many of you probably know, the Des Moines Register reported earlier today that Paul Shuman-Moore ’09 left behind a note before disappearing early Monday morning.
The S&B found out last night from Shuman-Moore’s roommate, Mike Horrell ’09, that Shuman-Moore had left a note. We decided not to publish the information out of respect for Shuman-Moore’s parents, who had asked that the information not be released.
The college offers a number of resources for students looking for someone to talk to. The Health Center offers walk-in counseling in the basement of the Forum. They can also be reached by phone at 641-269-3230.
The Chaplain’s Office also offers counseling services. They are located at 1233 Park Street, and can be called at 641-269-4981.
The Poweshiek County Mental Health Center also has counselors and trained staff available to help students. Their phone number is 641-236-6136.
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No, the family has declined all requests for interviews and public comment. When we realized that the Des Moines Register and various TV stations had announced the note, we decided to discuss whether students should be relying on the Des Moines Register for such sensitive information or their school newspaper.
As part of that discussion, we called numerous people on campus, including Kate Worster Foster, the college's director of communications, and an RLC. We also attempted to reach the Chaplain, college mental health counselors, and counselors at the Poweshiek Mental Health Clinic. Based on our conversations with those people, we wrote out a draft, then showed it to other editors who had concerns about the wording. We adjusted the post to reflect those concerns and put it up.
Our overriding concern here is to serve the student body by being a source for reliable information. Rumors about the note had so penetrated the campus that we overheard some people discussing them as if they were established fact. Throughout all that, we held our hand to respect the parent's wishes. Once students were reading and linking to an outside source, though, we decided to put up what we knew in a responsible fashion.
I completely support the S&B's right to post the note. To be frank, I'm a bit disappointed they took it down.
I screwed up. I misread Bowers' comment, mistaking "it" as referring to the note and not information about the note.
Regardless, it's silly to criticize The B&S's perfectly reasonable action of posting the fact that a note had been found.
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