Conflict of Interest Policy

The Sunburst staff is committed to reporting with impartiality and accuracy. Therefore, it is expected that Sunburst staff members will avoid conduct that infringes upon these values. Staff shall refrain from interviewing family members and those they have close personal relationships with. With respect to co-written stories, no interviewees should have obvious affiliations with any staff members listed in the byline. Personal relationships with interviewees may be perceived as partial and may risk the credibility of the publication. In rare cases where a conflict of interest is unavoidable, action will be taken by the managing editors to handle each individual case and clearly disclose the conflict.

No staff member taking part in an event can report the story. Moreover, students who are part of a club, organization or sports team are not permitted to report stories about the given student group. Staff members shall also refrain from editing stories about student groups they are involved in to avoid partiality at any step of the process. Any staff member of The Sunburst cannot be interviewed for the publication. While staff members are permitted to take photos, a non-participating staff member must do the interviews and written reporting.

Staff members may not use The Sunburst’s platform for public relations work for themselves or other individuals.