Sometimes student scholars fail a test. Sometimes a student athlete’s performance earns only jeers.And sometimes student journalists get it wrong. But whether it’s a low score, the crowd’s taunts or an embarrassing error, the common threads between the scholar who continues to study, the quarterback who keeps passing and the reporter who still seeks the truth are both the ability to learn from such trials and the willingness to improve. I experienced such a learning opportunity this week.Two of The Daily Reveille’s employees played what they believed to be a practical joke on a former coworker and their Facebook friends earlier this week that had lasting negative implications.News Editor Adam Duvernay and Senior Staff Writer Xerxes Wilson updated their personal Facebook accounts with a status update claiming a celebrity, who is in fact still alive, was dead. Eric Freeman, a former Reveille columnist, saw this status update on the current Reveille employees’ personal accounts. Freeman then called the newsroom, where Duvernay answered the phone and confirmed the myth to Freeman. Two student journalists did make a mistake in this case. They portrayed false information on a medium where not only are they known to be employees of this publication but also on a medium The Daily Reveille aggressively uses to provide our readers with breaking, relevant news.Part of The Daily Reveille’s core purpose is to “provide a positive learning environment for the staffers to develop the skills needed to compete in the professional journalism market,” according to our mission statement.Both Duvernay and Wilson have shown amazing promise as young journalists. They’ve worked tirelessly, and they’ve done their best. In this incident, they messed up. Despite this lapse in judgment, both of these employees are, and continue to be “respectable, responsible writers and columnists who worked honorably to contribute meaningful content to the discourse of student opinion at the University,” as Freeman writes in his letter to the editor.This incident is further complicated because of the personal ties between the three men, and it speaks to two larger issues. First, we’ve learned an important lesson about the world of social networking. Like normal students, but held to professional journalistic standards, we face an inherent challenge of what we put online always being out there, and balancing personal lives with professional work in the digital world calls for a delicate hand.  The decision to be a reporter comes with an inseparable tie to the world of journalism that is portrayed in every action. Student journalists, including Reveille employees, are expected to be constant purveyors of the truth in all endeavors, be it online, in print or in conversation — a lesson of which we were reminded this week.Secondly, this incident is a prime example of The Daily Reveille’s constant willingness and ability to improve. I have watched this publication build and strengthen its overall products and standards in the seven semesters I’ve worked here.This trend will continue. As Reveille editor, I have been transparent about our editorial decisions, and I have always used journalistic situations — good or bad — as an opportunity for our student employees to learn and better themselves.The new world of social network is one we, and journalists all over, are still trying to figure out. I created and implemented a social-networking policy during fall semester, setting clear, ethical standards for Reveille employees to follow in the digital world. I wholeheartedly agree with Freeman that, “Reveille staffers have a responsibility, in print as well as online, to report the truth with honor [and] integrity.”I’ve amended the policy  this week, and I will recommend to the next Reveille editor means to prevent such incidents — such as increased training and conversation about using social networking in a private life as journalists or periodically screening for violations.I apologize to any readers who feel a damaged sense of trust with The Daily Reveille. When I spoke with Freeman, I told him the situation unfortunately speaks volumes about what we’ve worked to accomplish at The Daily Reveille this year. We’ve scrambled, coordinated and worked relentlessly to give our readers quick, accurate breaking news. Freeman’s trust in individual employees of The Daily Reveille reflects our ability to give our readers just that. This incident sadly damaged that credibility we’ve worked to establish, and as editor I assure we’ll do everything possible to regain it.I assure you these employees will take this incident as a learning opportunity in the end, which ultimately will not only give the professional journalism world two more reporters who are better prepared to run mainstream media outlets, but also will add to The Daily Reveille’s credibility as we work to prevent future incidents and similar occurrences.____Contact Nicholas Persac at [email protected]