To: The Wesleyan Student Assembly, the Wesleyan student body and the campus community at large
As former editors of The Argus, we want to express our deep disappointment and concern over the recent passage of a resolution that would cut the paper’s funding by more than half. These cuts threaten the survival of an institution that was instrumental in shaping our collective college experience and that has, somewhat miraculously, been covering campus news without interruption since 1868. We are also disturbed by the events that led up to the proposed budget cuts and the threat they pose to free speech and freedom of the press at Wesleyan.
We are teachers, lawyers, doctors, scientists, government workers, corporate executives and investment bankers, among other professions. Many of us are also journalists at outlets such as The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, USA Today, NBC News, CNBC, MSNBC, National Public Radio, The Associated Press, Vanity Fair, the Forward and The Minneapolis Star Tribune. The Argus played a crucial role in our development as writers, leaders, critical thinkers, skeptics and justice seekers. We believe in nuanced argument and the illumination of the truth even if it means overturning preconceived notions about an issue or an idea. We also believe in the value of exposing ourselves—and our readers—to perspectives different from our own in order to learn and grow.
Given this, we find it outrageous that an op-ed published by The Argus, with which some members of the university community disagreed, appears to have led to the current movement to partially strip the paper of its funding. The incident represents a fundamental misunderstanding of the role of the press and its opinion pages. An op-ed is by definition the opinion of its writer and doesn’t represent the views of the paper or its editorial board. Indeed, The Argus has long printed virtually all of the opinion pieces submitted to it, a fact that undermines accusations that it is somehow excluding, or favoring, certain voices.
From an editorial standpoint, any student can freely join The Argus’s staff and participate in shaping its coverage. Some have pointed out that the time commitment required to work at the paper makes it difficult for students who need to earn an income to work there. Yet many of us were work-study students and still found time to write for The Argus. Moreover, slashing the paper’s budget makes it less likely that it will be able to pay its staff members.
More fundamentally, a newspaper has no obligation to reflect the values or opinions of any particular reader or stakeholder. The Argus’s job is to accurately report events and issues on campus. It can and should, however, publish opinion pieces that reflect the various perspectives of individuals and groups on campus. If students or other members of the Wesleyan community disagree with those opinions, the appropriate response is to submit an op-ed, not to cut The Argus’s funding.
The way the Wesleyan Student Assembly has handled this issue is dismayingly similar to the way authoritarian regimes have silenced an independent press. It is not the way student leaders of a university that treasures the freedom of ideas should be expected to act. The national news media’s negative coverage of this issue has made Wesleyan a poster child for the enforcement of hyper-political correctness at the expense of free speech on college campuses. It reflects poorly on you, on the university and on the greater Wesleyan community.
We urge the WSA to reconsider its current plan to reduce The Argus’s funding. To cut the paper’s budget in the proposed arbitrary manner would send the wrong message to the outside world about Wesleyan’s values and the open environment it seeks to promote. Although we spend only four short years at Wesleyan, the decisions we make have a lasting effect. For the WSA to use its power to stifle a 147-year-old institution like The Argus would be shameful. Please do not let this decision define your legacy at Wesleyan.
Sincerely,
Miriam Gottfried ’05, EIC Fall ’03
Xiomara Lorenzo ’05, EIC Fall ’03
Michael Sanfilippo ’05, EIC Spring ’04
Elizabeth Chuck ’05, EIC Spring ’04
Brett Beach-Kimball ’05, EIC Fall ’04
Katey Rich ’06, EIC Spring ’05
Co-Signers
Jae Aron ’11, EIC Spring ’10
Lydia Tomkiw ’11, EIC Spring ’10
Mollie Laffin-Rose ’08, EIC Fall ’07 and Spring ’08
Matthew DiBlasi ’07, EIC Spring ’06
Josh Brandstadter ’06, EIC Fall ’05
Alden Ferro ’04, EIC Spring ’03
Steve Chasey ’03, EIC Fall ’02
Robert Zeliger ’03, EIC Spring ’02
Amy Tannenbaum ’03, EIC Fall ’01
Larrison Campbell ’02, EIC Spring ’01
Diana (Silbergeld) Pasquali ’02, EIC Spring ’01
Becky Trout Bach ’00, EIC Fall ’99
Jeremy Duda ’00, EIC Fall ’98
Scott Mayerowitz ’00, EIC Spring ’98
Dan Shotz ’99, EIC Spring ’97
Andrew Schell ’96, EIC Spring ’95
Laura Dine Million ’96, EIC Fall ’94
Eric Meyerson ’95, EIC Fall ’93
Jason Rekate ’93, EIC Spring ’92
Adam Berinsky ’92, EIC Spring ’91
Michael Santoli ’92, EIC Spring ’91
Diana Strauss Casey ’91, EIC Spring ’90
Ian Gerrard ’91, EIC Fall ’89
Kirsten Delegard ’90, EIC Spring ’89
Andrew Siff ’90, EIC Spring ’89
Joel F. Brown ’89, EIC ’88
James Eli Shiffer ’89, EIC Fall ’88
David Williams ’89, EIC Fall ’87
Paul P. Rooney ’89, EIC Fall ’87
Dylan McClain ’88, EIC Fall ’86
Gordon Coburn ’86, EIC Fall ’85
Clare Bates Congdon ’84, EIC Spring ’84
Tom Frank ’84, EIC Spring ’83
Jonathan Yeo ’84, EIC Spring ’83
Eric Coburn ’85, EIC Fall ’83
Paul Kusserow ’85, EIC Spring ’82
Harry Browne ’84, EIC Fall ’81 and Fall ’82
Cliff Meyer ’82, EIC Spring ’81
Laura Fraser ’82, EIC Fall ’81
Mark Sirota ’82, EIC Fall ’81
Susan Bodnar ’82
Chris Jeffers ’81, Asst. Ed ’80
Joanne Smith Rohde ’80, EIC ’78
Nancy Stier ’80, News Editor ’78
Amy Zinsser ’80, P’17, Features Editor, Fall ’76, Spring ’77
JD Solomon ’78, EIC ’77
Jane Eisner ’77, P’ 06 and ‘12, EIC Spring ’76 and Fall ‘76
Clifford Chanin ’75, EIC Fall ’74 and Spring ’75
Charley Blaine ’74, EIC ’73
Steven Greenhouse ’73, EIC ’72
Andrew Feinstein ’72, EIC ’71
David S. Barrett ’71, EIC Fall ’69