Terms and Policies

Letters to the Editor

Letters to the editor may be submitted to editor@mustangnews.net with the subject line “Letter to the editor” to be considered for publication. Letters should be relevant to the Cal Poly community and provide a thoughtful argument that encourages discussion.

Submissions should not exceed 600 words, and should include a headline, and your year, major or position. Anonymous submissions will not be published. You may also submit a photo to be considered for use with the article.

Mustang News will never edit a letter to change its intent or meaning. However, Mustang News does reserve the right to edit letters for content, clarity and taste. We will not publish letters containing libelous information, and the author might be asked to provide reliable sources or make edits for clarity prior to publication.

Once the letter has been submitted, Mustang News has permission to publish the letter in print and online, as well as to share it on various social media channels.

Comments

Mustang News encourages thoughtful and intelligent discussion through web commentary, and we request that all commenters adhere to the following rules and regulations when posting:

Please refrain from using language that is defamatory, obscene, in violation of copyright or trademark laws, advocating illegal or violent actions, attacking a specific race, creed, gender, sexual orientation or religion; or poses a direct harm to sources, staffers or other commenters.
No spamming will be tolerated.
Mustang News does not allow anonymous comments; instead, commenters may log in with their Facebook accounts.

Mustang News reserves the right to edit or delete any comments that are deemed in violation of the above rules. In the event that a specific comment was edited or deleted, we will inform readers of what was edited/removed, and can (upon request) provide explanation.

Anonymity

Mustang News strives to bring you even and unbiased news coverage of the highest caliber. Sometimes, in the event of a highly sensitive story, anonymous sources may be used. Editors and reporters reserve the right to offer sources anonymity in the event that the paper could not otherwise print information that is important and reliable. Sources are not offered anonymity under normal circumstances or if another, identified source can be used. A source will only remain unidentified if the act of revealing their name would result in legal jeopardy or loss of livelihood. This includes, but is not limited to, the possibility of harassment, termination of employment or direct harm upon the source.

When we choose to use an unidentified source, we at Mustang News accept an obligation to show readers why this particular source is a trustworthy and important part of the story, i.e. how they are knowledgeable about the events related. We are also obliged to confirm said information with at least two other sources when available. In the event of accusations made upon another group, the reporter is required to contact said group for a chance to refute the claims. If no confirmation can be made, the reporter and editors must sincerely consider the validity and motives of the source.

When a source requests to remain anonymous, this does not put Mustang News under obligation to uphold said anonymity in user-generated content, such as comments. This is at the discretion of the editors, and may be based upon the Mustang News web comments policy. In the event they choose to uphold the anonymity of said source, Mustang News editors will remove the name, and inform readers why the name was removed.

Corrections, Updates and Deletions

Mustang News makes every effort for content to be completely accurate upon publication. If a correction is required, however, we are transparent and will update a story if new information either adds to or corrects an aspect of the original story. We will issue corrections for a factual error or if a typo in the copy could cause audiences to misunderstand the story.

At Mustang News, our policy is that we do not remove articles, or portions thereof, once they’ve been published online. This applies retroactively to all archival materials founded on all versions of the Mustang News website. This applies to the Mustang Daily content which is housed on the current Mustang News website. Mustang News also does not remove author’s names from said stories, letters or opinion pieces. Articles may be corrected or amended if it is determined that the material is libelous or inaccurate. In extreme cases where the current Mustang News editor-in-chief determines that follow-up material should be reported, such as in coverage of criminal cases, Mustang News will amend the story. If a correction or amendment has been made, the change will be noted in an update at the top of the story or a correction placed at the bottom of the story, along with the date and time of the alteration. In the rare circumstance where the entire premise of a story is faulty, the editorial team at the time will consider whether further editorial action is warranted, which may include removal of the story. To make a complaint that content is inaccurate, contact the editor-in-chief.

Privacy Policy

Our postal address is:
Cal Poly Building 26 Room 226
San Luis Obispo, CA 93401

We can be reached via e-mail at editor@mustangnews.net or you can reach us by telephone at (805) 756-1796.

Information we obtain and how we use it

For each visitor to our Web page, our Web server automatically recognizes users’ geographic location, browser type, operating system and other basic user information via analytic software. We do not, however, track your individual identity or connect your identity to the content you view. The information is only used to let us know how to cater our site to our viewer demographic.

We collect the e-mail addresses of those who register for our site, subscribe to our RSS feed or e-mail alerts, post a comment, fill out a form, or communicate with us via e-mail. We aggregate information about which pages our users access or visit, user-specific information and information volunteered by the user, such as contact information and/or site registrations.

We use your information only as permitted by law. We do not partner with or have special relationships with any ad server companies. We will never give away your personal information to third parties.

The user information we collect is used to improve the content of our Web page, customize/improve our content based on overall visitor preference, to notify consumers about updates to our Web site, to contact users, disclose information when legally required to do so at the request of governmental authorities conducting an investigation, to verify or enforce compliance with the policies governing our Web site and applicable laws or to protect against misuse or unauthorized use of our Web site.

We use cookies to store customers’ information during login. Among other things, the cookie may store your user name and password, sparing you from having to re-enter that information each time you visit, or may control the number of times you encounter a particular advertisement while visiting our site. In most cases, you can choose not to provide us with information by setting your browser to refuse to accept cookies, but doing so may limit your ability to access certain portions of the site or may require you to re-enter your user name and password each time you visit.

If you supply us with your postal address online, you will only receive the information for which you provided us your address. Persons who supply us with their telephone numbers online will only receive telephone contact from us regarding any questions about the information for which you provided us your telephone number. Persons who supply us with their e-mail address will only receive e-mails for which they opt into voluntarily. You may unsubscribe from e-mails or any updates at any time.

Changes to this policy

If our information practices or our privacy policy ever change, we will contact you before we use your data for these new purposes. We will notify you of the policy change and provide you with the ability to opt out of these new uses at that time. We will post the policy changes to our Web site to notify you of these changes and we will use for these new purposes only data collected from the time of the policy change forward. If you are concerned about how your information is used, you should check back at our Web site periodically.

Upon request we provide site visitors with access to all information that we maintain about them. Upon request we offer visitors the ability to have inaccuracies corrected in contact information. Consumers can have any information corrected by sending us an e-mail at the above address, calling us at the above telephone number or writing to us at the above address.

If you feel that this site is not following its stated information policy, you may contact us at the above addresses or phone number.