We at the Daily Eastern News understand the suicide of Mark Apa is a sensitive matter. We join the Eastern community in grieving for our fellow student.

Everyone that works at the DEN is a student also.

However, as journalists, we have a duty to inform the campus and Apa’s death is news.

Apa’s death happened on campus, in a fraternity house owned by the university and in a campus of 12,000, when a student dies, in any way, it is news.

We at the DEN deal in information, not rumors.

Rumors run rampant on any college campus. This is especially true in a situation such as this. Students have heard a variety of rumors about the death of Mark Apa. By providing the information from Wednesday night’s inquest, we at the DEN feel we are providing information that will enable the rumor mill surrounding Apa’s death to stop.

The DEN is not a gossip column; we deal in facts. The facts were clear in this case.

That does not mean, we at the DEN released all of the information we had.

We thought about how much information to include in the article. We left out names and details of the suicide that we did not feel needed to be released to the public.

The details we chose to release was information we felt was pertinent to the public and details that may help other students who are dealing with the same issues as Apa.

The editorial board of the DEN feels that by releasing Apa’s blood alcohol level, the fact that he had cocaine in his system and the fact that he was depressed bring to light issues that many Eastern students face. Drug dependency and depression are issues that many college students deal with. By reporting on these issues, the DEN hopes other college students who are dealing with these same issues will seek help. The DEN urges anyone who is dealing with these issues to contact Eastern’s Counseling Center at 581-3413.

People care about Mark Apa. This we know. During the memorial service for Apa, held Dec. 4, the church was filled with students, faculty and administrators. These same people who cared so deeply about Apa want to know what happened to him and they have the right to know what happened to him.

Everything the DEN published is public information. The excerpt from the suicide note that was printed in Thursday’s edition of the DEN was read at the inquest. As was the way Apa killed himself, and the names of his fraternity brothers that found him. While these details may make many readers uncomfortable, they are necessary to completely inform our readers, which is the job of the Daily Eastern News.

Some students have accused the DEN of reopening a wound for the Apa family.

The Apa family was told by The DEN that the inquest would be covered in Thursday’s paper. We are trying to be as sensitive to the needs of the family as we can be. We offer our condolences to Apa’s family and friends in their time of grief. This being said, the inquest would have occurred whether or not the DEN covered it.

For anyone that has comments or concerns on how the DEN has covered the death of Mark Apa please submit a letter to the editor at denopinions@gmail.com or call 581-7936.