Editorial policies

Ethics

We follow the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics: seek truth and report it, minimize harm, act independently, and be accountable and transparent. Staff do not report on organizations they lead or belong to, and we disclose any connection that readers would want to know about.

News, opinion and editorials are labeled separately. Editorials represent the view of The Gavel’s editorial board; columns and letters represent only their authors.

Corrections

When we get something wrong, we fix it promptly and say so. Corrected articles show a correction note at the end and an “Updated” date next to the original publication date. We do not quietly change facts in published stories.

To report an error, email bcgavel@gmail.com with the article link and what you believe is incorrect.

Unpublishing requests

Our archive is a public record, so we rarely remove published articles. We will consider unpublishing or anonymizing a story when keeping it online puts someone’s safety at risk, when it contains a serious error we cannot correct, or in other exceptional cases. The editor-in-chief decides, and removals are recorded. Send requests to bcgavel@gmail.com.

Letters to the editor

We welcome letters from students, faculty, staff, alumni and neighbors. Send them to bcgavel@gmail.com with your name and your connection to BC. Letters may be edited for length, clarity and accuracy, and are published with the writer’s name. Published letters appear under Letter to the Editor.

Anonymous sources

We name our sources whenever we can. We grant anonymity only when a source faces a real risk of harm, such as retaliation, and the information cannot be obtained another way. At least one editor knows the source’s identity, and the article explains why the source was not named.

Privacy

• Readers: you don’t need an account to read The Gavel. We run no ads and no analytics or tracking scripts.
• Services we use: the site is hosted on Vercel, articles and images are stored with Supabase, and fonts load from Google Fonts. These providers receive standard request information such as your IP address when you visit.
• Search: searches go directly to our article database and are not stored by us.
• Staff accounts: contributors sign in with a staff username and their Boston College Google account. We keep their name, email and a record of which articles they create or change.
• Photos: location and camera information is removed from photos before they’re published.

Contact

Email bcgavel@gmail.com. See also About The Gavel.