On the very first Friday of this semester, long before the events of September, reporters from Vice Magazine came to the University while Mallet was running an Open Mic Night (a publicly open talent show). They started filming interviews with anyone on the steps who was willing to talk to them about greek life. That night, I told the reporters I didn’t give them permission to use any of that footage and didn’t sign off on the release form that they brought.

The next day, I swung by the Retreat to meet up with some friends. We ran into the same reporters there, and they ended up with a few minutes of footage of us. The three of us were allowed in the party, but Vice was not. This time, the reporters were asked by both the staff at the Retreat and later myself to destroy any footage they received. The reporters told me that they did not have sufficient footage to finish the story, and if they did manage to put one together they would have to send it to me for approval.

You can probably guess what happened next.

The release of that video is ultimately my fault for blindly taking these reporters at their word, and I apologize. That video is inaccurate both in its portrayal of Mallet’s and the greek community’s feelings on current campus issues, and it distracts from serious issues on campus that Mallet doesn’t want to be and shouldn’t be the mouthpiece for.

There are more courageous people on our campus who are working hard to make great things happen for the rest of us than I can fit in this article. There are people of all races and backgrounds who have been outspoken and active to help work on these problems, members of the greek community who continue to be insightful and open-minded in working with the rest of campus to make it a better place, and especially the girls who first brought the issue of discrimination to light.

Those are the people who make me happy I attend this university, and those are the people who deserve praise and attention.

Isaac Bell is the president of the Mallet Assembly.