In an article published March 3 covering a local vigil held in honor of Nex Benedict, Post staff published multiple errors. We pride ourselves on equitable and accurate coverage, and the fact that this was not consistent for this event is inexcusable.
Benedict was a transgender 16-year-old from Oklahoma and a member of the Choctaw Nation who died in early February following an altercation with three other students. Benedict’s death is still under investigation. The vigil was held on College Green on the evening of Saturday, March 2, and was followed by a march to the Athens County Courthouse, 1 S. Court St., protesting House Bill 68.
There were two errors in the coverage regarding attendees’ names and pronouns. A previous version of the article reported organizer Jamie Miller as using they/them pronouns, and spelled Kurt Lindemann’s name as “Curt.”
At The Post, we instruct all reporters to begin by asking names, spellings and pronouns. We are grateful people trust us with their stories, and part of that includes reporting on them carefully and accurately. We are deeply sorry to Miller and Lindemann for this mistake.
We have also adjusted information regarding the sponsorship, hosting and organizing of the vigil. Initially, it was reported the TRANS Group (improperly identified as the Ohio University Transgender Student Group) organized the vigil. The updated story correctly identifies Miller and Ari Faber as the organizers, as the two of them orchestrated the event.
Additionally, other details have been updated from the original draft. United Campus Ministry’s contributions have now been included, and wording adjustments were made to reflect the LGBT Center’s support, as they assisted in sponsoring the vigil alongside United Campus Ministry but did not sponsor the march.
We are incredibly sorry for confusion and misunderstanding surrounding any article, but especially one discussing a subject with a history of underrepresentation, inaccurate reporting and erasure like this one. We understand publishing this correction does not remedy the errors made on our behalf.
Along with updating the article and issuing personal apologies, we have also had an internal discussion to understand what happened within our process. We have ensured this is a learning experience, as student media should be, and are working to ensure errors like this one will not happen again.
Editor-in-Chief
