This post was updated May 12 at 8:59 p.m.

Dear Bruins,

The past week has been one of the most challenging in the over 100 years that UCLA – and the Daily Bruin – have been standing.

The Daily Bruin has worked hard – both this year and in years prior – to accurately portray what has been happening on our campus. We believe that students, staff, faculty and community members have a right to be informed about issues pertaining to them. In the past, The Bruin has been critical in exposing shortcomings of the Title IX office, issues with university apartments, student government funding mismanagement and ASUCLA mistreatment of workers.

In recent days, our coverage of the Palestine solidarity encampment at UCLA has involved sending reporters on the ground – incurring great risk to themselves – to photograph, interview and witness the actions of community members, outsiders, administrators and law enforcement. In spite of the risks, we are proud of the work we have done to keep you, our readers, informed.

Even as all of us recover from the past few days’ events, our desire to find the truth has not stopped. We’ve requested records of communications between top-level university and UCPD officials about both the counter-protester-led attack that injured dozens and the police-led dispersal of the Palestine solidarity encampment at UCLA that resulted in more than 200 arrests.

We’ve also tried to dig into the choices taken during the aftermath, as professors call for the chancellor’s resignation and new administrative units are formed. The campus community deserves to know what happened, and as UCLA’s independent student-run newspaper, we intend to do our best to tell you.

But we cannot do it alone.

Public records requests can often take months or years to be returned by university officials. Statements and interviews with administrators can be difficult to get. Even in the past few days, our reporters have been stonewalled by UCLA Media Relations. We need you, the campus community, to share what you know about the events of Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday. Community members acting on their consciences are critical to holding institutions accountable for their actions.

We understand there are risks involved in speaking to the Daily Bruin. We don’t want sources punished for speaking to us – in fact, protecting sources is a part of journalistic ethics. But it is only with the valuable contributions of the sources who speak to us that we are able to tell stories that matter and hold those in power accountable.

If you know anything about the decisions taken by administrative officials or have any records that you think the public has a right to know, please reach out to us at [email protected].

Thousands of Bruins are looking for justice. It’s time that you help us give it to them.

Yours sincerely,

The Daily Bruin News Editors

The Daily Bruin Enterprise Editors