To the Editor:
As a former editor in chief of this fine publication, I wish I could say that I was shocked to learn of the systematic destruction of the orientation issue of The Mirror. Truth be told, staffers going back as far as my 2002-2003 reign of terror have often suspected this. While I do concur in the collective judgment of the other former editors that this is a shameful act, I wish to write separately on issues removed from the first amendment.
First, those who should truly be ashamed of themselves are the members of the Orientation Board who helped destroy the paper and FUSA President Hutch Williams. Mr. Williams blindly assumed that the administration had a valid reason, whereas Katie Boutros “didn’t think about it” and just did as she was told. So, both were just following orders? It is embarrassing to say I attended the same undergrad as people who would stomp on one of this country’s most cherished rights because a person who organizes bingo night at the Levee told them to do so.
Second, it is time for the those involved with FUSA and Student Activities to realize that The Mirror is not the cause of their failings. The destruction of these particular papers is only another battle in the ongoing war between those who organize poorly attended events and those who point out that no one attended. Those who organize official university activities for the students would be quite naive to think that if The Mirror wrote only positive things about their boring Friday and Saturday night sober-ternatives that they would be more positively received. During my tenure, and no doubt today, students are more interested in the three Bs: the beach, the bar, the basements.
Third, The Mirror can do much better. That The Mirror did not prominently feature the articles in the print edition is telling of their quality. I see little in Andrew Chapin’s column that is so offensive as to call for its censoring, and I doubt anyone ever brought into Ms. Nikolenko’s office has been completely forthright in their drinking complicity. Nonetheless, it is poorly written. Amazingly, Dan McClorey’s column manages to be both offensive and boring at the same time. The boorish for the sake of being boorish canard is no longer shocking nor interesting. I would take Mr. McClorey to task for wanting to appear like an oaf in print, yet he would no doubt wear it as a badge of honor. (Full disclosure: the author of this letter tried to end He Said/She Said during his Editorship for reasons entirely unrelated to the first amendment and more concerned with taste.)
I hope The Mirror has the courtesy and courage to print such criticism from such a partisan fan of the publication. I have no doubt that they will, because what makes The Mirror the best student organization at Fairfield is that The Mirror takes criticism head on; the administration and FUSA throws it in the trash.
Sincerely,
Sean Hayes ’03
Former editor in chief of The Mirror
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