Policies

The Vanderbilt Hustler’s policies regarding guest editorials, Letters to the Editor, comment sections and anonymity are as follows:

Guest editorial policy

The Hustler welcomes guest editorials from members of the Vanderbilt community. To submit an editorial, email your name, affiliation with Vanderbilt University and editorial to our Opinion Editor, Zoe Abel, at [email protected] and our Editor-in-Chief, Rachael Perrotta, at [email protected]. 

We reserve the right to edit editorials, determine, based on our discretion, whether to publish an editorial and decide the publication timeline of editorials. The submission of a guest editorial does not guarantee publication, but The Hustler will do its best to work with guest authors through the editorial process. We prefer editorials to remain under 1,000 words.

Letters to the Editor policy

The Hustler encourages readers to submit Letters to the Editor regarding our recent coverage or general events affecting the Vanderbilt community. To submit a Letter to the Editor, email your name, affiliation with Vanderbilt University and editorial to our Editor-in-Chief, Rachael Perrotta, at [email protected]. 

We reserve the right to edit Letters to the Editor for length and clarity, determine whether to publish a Letter to the Editor based on our discretion and decide the publication timelines of Letters to the Editor. The submission of a Letter to the Editor does not guarantee publication, but The Hustler will do its best to accommodate all Letters to the Editor and to work with guest writers throughout the editorial process. We prefer Letters to the Editor to remain under 800 words. 

Comment sections policy

The Hustler welcomes and encourages readers to engage with content and express opinions through the comment sections on our website and social media platforms. The Hustler reserves the right to block users or remove comments that contain vulgarity, hate speech, personal attacks, false information or that appear to be spam, commercial promotion, impersonation or without serious intent. This provision includes comments that are submitted using a fabricated or unverified email or display name. The comment sections are moderated by our Editor-in-Chief, Rachael Perrotta, and our Social Media Director, Chloe Postlewaite. You can reach them at [email protected] and [email protected]. 

Anonymity policy

The Hustler anonymity policy for sources and authors follows the AP standard for anonymity, and requests for anonymity will only be granted if they fall under this standard. The Hustler reserves the right to grant anonymity on a case-by-case basis. A request for anonymity does not guarantee anonymity. The identity of anonymous individuals must be known to the editor of the section in which their quotes or writing will appear, as well as to our Editor-in-Chief, Rachael Perrotta.

Requests for anonymity that have been granted historically include those related to FERPA, HIPAA and Title IX regulations, members of the LGBTQ+ community whose gender/sexual identity is revealed but who are not out and individuals who would face legal or professional repercussions for having their name attached to a piece.

Content policy

Vanderbilt Student Communications (VSC) does not allow the removal of content, including but not limited to articles, columns, editorials, photos and Letters to the Editor, from online archives of its divisions once the content has been published in any format. For more information on this policy, please reference VSC’s Bylaws. If you have any questions, please email our Editor-in-Chief, Rachael Perrotta, at [email protected].

The Hustler reserves the right to determine its own content in a way that aligns with our mission and goals. The focus of and information included in our articles, while potentially informed by sources and internal research, is ultimately our journalistic decision. We welcome pitches from the community.

Advertisements and guest posts

The Vanderbilt Hustler does not publish advertisements of any kind, with the exception of occasional promotions for other VSC organizations. The only guest posts that are permitted are guest editorials and Letters to the Editor, which much be written by individual(s) affiliated with the Vanderbilt community.

Corrections and updates

Occasionally, corrections and updates will be made to pieces that contain either incorrect or misrepresented information or for which additional, relevant information has been obtained post-publication, respectively. The Hustler works to minimize errors in publication and to issue corrections in a timely manner. Corrected articles can be viewed here. If you are aware of an error in Hustler content, please contact our Editor-in-Chief, Rachael Perrotta, at [email protected].