Being The Daily Reveille’s editor is like sitting in a daily ethics class.Tough situtations pop up all the time, and the decisions made have real consequences.And one decision made in the last week of January is still sparring pleny of debate.Former University student Donald Chase Jarreau was found dead in his apartment Jan. 24 from “drug toxicity from cocaine,” according to the East Baton Rouge Parish Coroner’s Office. The story printed on the bottom rail on page one of the Jan. 27 edition. And I firmly stand by that decision for plenty of sound, ethical reasons.The first — and most convincing reason — is the story’s impact on the University and its community.Drugs like cocaine are a very real problem here and around the country. The 2006 National Survey on Drug Use and Health said “35.3 million Americans aged 12 and older reported having used cocaine.” And the National Institute on Drug Abuse reported “adults 18 to 25 years old have a higher current cocaine use than those in any other age group.”Most bad situations present an opportunity for something good to happen. And I’m hopeful exposing Jarreau’s situation — and story — opened some people’s eyes. If that story reached just one person using cocaine and sparked them to stop or get some form of help, then the story served one of its main purposes.Besides impact, Jarreau’s story was timely since he died Saturday and the story was printed Tuesday. In an ideal world the story should have run Monday. The story also had prominence. Jarreau was a former student, and the name itself rings a bell with Baton Rouge residents. It would’ve been wrong for us to ignore that the victim’s father is Donnie Jarreau, a well-known Baton Rouge businessman. Proximity was also accounted for in the decision to print the story. The body was found at the Blox At Brightside, an apartment complex many students call home. The Blox is about a five-minute drive away from campus.I — and my editorial team — take decisions like these very seriously. We usually huddle in a room, breakdown the situation, give our opinions and decide what to do.These kinds of stories are printed around the country daily. Reporters and photographers at metro papers are always running out to death scenes and dealing with grieving family and friends. It’s the not-so-glamorous side of journalism.But there’s always a point to it. The best kind of journalism brings light to problems. I understand the family in this situation is grieving. I’ve had a close family member die suddenly, and it’s nothing I ever want to experience again. But the decision our newspaper made was the right one. Just not the kind we like to make.——Contact Kyle Whitfield at [email protected]