It has come to my attention that a rumor regarding my acquaintance with one of my sources from last week’s article is being spread amongst officials at Winthrop and across multiple different departments at our university. This rumor alleges that my source, Eleanor “Ellie” Marindin, and I were in a relationship prior to my writing of this article. I spent several days debating whether or not I should address these fabricated claims, but I have recently discovered that they are beginning to trickle down from the heads of departments and administrative officials to my peers and fellow Eagles. That is where I draw the line.
These rumors are noxious, completely untrue, and defamatory in nature. These whisperings among officials are undoubtedly intended to discredit me as a reporter, to disrepute Marindin, and to distract the community from the larger issue at hand.
I have provided my Editor in Chief with a complete timeline of events which describes (in detail) the nature of my short-lived and surface-level acquaintance with Marindin prior to pitching this story in November of 2019. Our acquaintance was never romantic and never surpassed posting one set of photos together on Instagram in 2019. The only time Marindin and I have ever met alone was to discuss this article, one I have spent a considerable amount of time and energy writing with uttermost objectivity.
Any perception of bias in this story comes from officials leaving The Johnsonian in silence for nearly eight months as we pursued this story. Their refusal to address the concerns I brought to them eight months ago, not my acquaintance with Marindin, is the reason for the perceived one-sidedness of this story.
To falsely suggest that I pursued this story for one year and five months simply because I was “in a relationship” with Marindin is beyond insulting—it is dishonorable and telling of our University’s general atmosphere. This has never been personal for me. I have never been in pursuit of anything other than truth and transparency.
As a journalist, that is my highest calling. I refuse to allow these slanderous rumors to breathe any longer and immediately call on officials to put an end to their pathetic attempts to invalidate the voices of student journalists and their sources.
