Tuesday I stood before the Tennessee legislature to speak on behalf of students who want better access to information from The University of Memphis.
Thursday night I stood before the Student Government Association to speak on behalf of my reporters, who have been seeking and reporting information on the murder of Taylor Bradford.
Despite the enormity of actually speaking before the government of the state of Tennessee, standing before SGA was more difficult by far.
To put it mildly, members of our student governing body were upset at the article we ran this week that gave details as to why police were trying to find two students to talk to for information about Taylor's murder.
I must confess, I wasn't planning on writing a piece for this paper today. After leaving the SGA meeting Thursday night, I had no plans to come back to my office and write an apology that some members of SGA demanded from me for doing my job.
Why should I? We followed every aspect of journalism ethic,s and sought only to inform students to the best of our ability.
But, while sitting in my office Thursday night recapping all of the verbal exchanges at the meeting, I heard a very familiar voice on TV.
It was, of course, Mayor Willie Herenton giving his victory speech.
And what I heard was a man who used that momentous occasion to blame almost every problem in this city on an entire race of people.
There is no denying by people like me, who grew up in Memphis, that we are divided, but I saw that divide grow by light years right before my eyes last night.
And at that moment, I remembered a request I made in my Wednesday column, asking students to pray not for a particular candidate but for a deeper change in the heart of our city.
Unfortunately, I fear that the election will not bring that kind of unity.
So I want to take time here to do my own part to inspire a different mindset.
I want things to change, so I decided to start it under my own byline.
I first want to apologize for any article this week that caused anyone to speculate on any student involvement with Taylor Bradford's murder.
I want to apologize if any student was hurt by the factual information provided this week.
I cannot apologize for my reporters, who stand behind their work, but I can personally apologize for the anger it caused some students.
I do this against the wishes of my staff and my journalism professors, but as I type these words, I feel it is necessary.
I know that this apology will most likely not be sufficient for many SGA members present last night, but if I can change the opinion of one person who looked at me with disdain and anger Thursday night, then it is worth it to me.
If I can do my best to try and resolve conflict with my fellow students and Memphians, maybe it will help me find hope for our city.
Maybe the next time I am asked to speak at an SGA meeting, it can be about all the articles we've done on student, safety or possibly student fees.
I am not sure if the words I put on this page will affect anything that I've addressed today, but at least I will fall asleep tonight with a little more hope than I had Thursday.
