Certain store tenants in Storrs Center have lost business due to aggressive ticketing by attendants from LAZ Parking, which manages the parking garage for Storrs Center. (Kimberly Nguyen/The Daily Campus)
Last week, The Daily Campus published an article entitled “Storrs Center is dying – and LAZ Parking is killing it, store owners say.” The response to this article has been high in volume and passion, with groups on both sides of the issue using the article as either vindication or cause for a fight. Of course, the truth is often provocative, and the discourse it allows is always good.
However, a slight correction has been made to the article. A figure used to support the arguments of the article seemed to be misplaced: It stated that $635,103.81 was made in revenue off of parking violations, but this figure includes all sorts of revenue streams, most notably monthly and transient monthly parking fees. The actual profit off of parking violations for LAZ Parking was $47,385.05.
While this error was made, two things are important to note that get to the heart of the value of journalism and truth. Firstly, this error was not made to misrepresent facts. The mistake was caught from within The Daily Campus and was fixed without outside pressure. The online version of the story — still being shared around campus and Mansfield — has the correction for this mistake and admits it fully.
This brings us to the more pertinent point: Transparency. The Daily Campus believes in being fully honest when caught making a mistake. Not only is it clear online, but this article serves to spread the word further correcting the issue.
While it is certain that a mistake was made, this error does not at all take away from the viewpoints and other figures from the article. The grievances had by the owners and patrons of Storrs Center are still very much real and are not at all changed by this. The Daily Campus still stands behind its purpose, message and writing. The importance of this story is not lost, either, and The Daily Campus will continue to report on this situation as it develops further.
This is why transparency in these situations is important. In order to keep the trust of readers and the UConn community, The Daily Campus is committed to being clear and honest about all of its processes and fixes. This is a core value of the group, to inform and act with complete truth. We hope that the Town of Mansfield acts in the same manner in its development and management of Storrs Center.