To the Editor:
Bravo to the editors of The Mirror for teaching a powerful lesson to the administration and student government at Fairfield University.
After reading in the Sept. 14 issue of The Mirror how the University callously stripped the first amendment away from its students, I was delighted to read that the editors of the independent student newspaper did not lie down and surrender to the unprecedented and ignorant actions of the misguided regime.
As the editorial in the issue fittingly titled “Stop the censorship” so accurately described, “The issue is not whether the articles should be considered good journalism. That question is not up to empowered campus figures; rather it is up to the readership.”
No less disturbing than the actions of Deirdre Eller, former director of New Student Programs at Fairfield, to strip the voice of the students, is the complacency and apathy certain student “leaders” suffer from at Fairfield.
I was troubled to read in “Mirror Orientation Issue Censored” how ignorant FUSA President Hutch Williams is to the violations the University so egregiously committed against the students he was elected to serve.
In the article, he alarmingly said, “I trusted there was a legitimate reason for it. [The papers] were taken away due to some content.” Mirror Editor Ryan Blair said it best.
“The actions taken by Deirdre [Eller] was rash, unfounded and wholly unprecedented. It was an assault on the opinions of the students and on the notion of a free and independent press.”
Bravo, Mr. Blair for recognizing that serving as the editor of a publication – any publication – involves more than just copy editing and delegating responsibilities. It requires ensuring that student rights are protected at all times, something that Mr. Williams evidentially doesn’t consider as important.
As Mr. Blair is certainly aware of, content ought never be the reason that first amendment rights are stripped and taken away.
With that said, I feel for Mr. Williams. With Ms. Eller gone, he will have to find another University official to tell him what to think and say as he clearly believes his job is not to protect the rights of the students but rather the image of the University.
Shame on you, Mr. Williams; you ought to be ashamed of your brazen disregard of student rights and sole desire to be the lackey of a misguided university regime.
Sincerely,
Jamie DeLoma
Editor in chief of
The Quinnipiac Chronicle
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