To the Editor:
On behalf of the Fairfield University Student Body we commend the initiative taken by the student activists who over the past week have respectfully and passionately stood up for their beliefs that the contents of the ‘He Said’ article in last week’s issue of The Mirror was offensive. Through respectfully protesting outside The Mirror office, by bringing their concerns to the FUSA Senate and through sharing their opinions with the Editorial Board of The Mirror these students worked hard to both educate us and cultivate change within our campus community.
Here at Fairfield University we all work to foster a spirit of respectful activism regarding social justice issues that include but are certainly not limited to gender equality, diversity and respect. The commitment shown by these students reflects these ideals and is something that as a student body we are proud of.
The Fairfield University Student Body also recognizes and appreciates the work done by the students that bring The Mirror to our University community on a weekly basis. The Mirror provides us with a vehicle to teach one another about campus and global issues and enables us to voice our opinion regarding them.
The Mirror is read by countless individuals who range anywhere from students, administrators and faculty to University Trustees, parents and perspective students. The content in the newspaper is widely read and influential among its readers. As such an influential and important aspect of student life, seeing the racial and sexist slurs written in the student newspaper last week was hurtful to our University community.
Understanding these factors, the Fairfield University Student Senate, a body representing all Fairfield University Students voted last Sunday that content such as what was written in The Mirror last week can not be tolerated on our campus. The Senate also voted that as a student body we believe that should similar content continue to be published, Fairfield University should suspend its subscription with The Mirror. As a student body we want to make it clear to everyone that content that degrades any group of people has no place within our community.
At Fairfield University we work to promote a University culture that both promotes and celebrates the different backgrounds and perspectives we all have. As a student body we look forward to working with The Mirror to help us promote this culture and to make Fairfield University the very best it can be.
Thank You,
The FUSA Executive Cabinet
Jeffrey Seiser ’10, Lauren Johnson ’11, David Axelrod ’10, Rachel Feyre ’10, Frank Fioretti ’10, Erin Mackey ’10, Alison MacNeill ’10, Edwin Muniz ’11, Christine Ruane ’10, Nicole Sweeney ’10
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