The fundamental duty of a college newspaper is to serve as a watchdog for student government and the college administration and to convey important news to the community. Any newspaper should also commit itself to reporting objectively and to not framing articles in a biased or sensational manner. This letter is to address directly some concerns with last week’s issue of The Student Life.

First, on the subject of the "secret meeting" mentioned in last week’s news section: TSL leadership was aware of this meeting’s undertaking three months ago. I, as ASPC President, made a public apology in an open Senate meeting for it. Also, I clarified my intention of wanting to avoid conflict between the Senate and TSL during my apology three months prior to last week’s story. Second, any elected representative of the student body has a duty to publicly voice any concern with the student government or administration. The Senate has gone on Senate retreats semesterly for years and no senator raised any concerns before, during, or since the retreat regarding misconduct. As far as I am aware, every senator found the retreat to be helpful and agreed with its agenda. The concerned senator, mentioned in last week’s article, should have raised his points during the retreat to the Senate instead of choosing to anonymously criticize after the fact. Third, I did not threaten, explicitly or implicitly, to censure or cut the budget of TSL. TSL’s budget will be judged by the same standards as every other student organization on campus: its benefit to the community, its cost to function, and its use of the previous year’s budget.

Finally, it is imperative that a student publication such as TSL does its duty with dignity and integrity and refrains from allowing personal differences from affecting its journalism. TSL leadership’s airing of personal grudges to a community member featured in an upcoming article was unprofessional. A day prior to last week’s TSL publication, Editor-in-Chief Nora Lawrence and other members of the TSL editorial board acted inappropriately when they chanted the word "war" as I passed them.

Students interested in matters addressed in this letter should read the February 19 edition of The Collage for more information. Also, students concerned with the actions of the ASPC Senate or individual senators should always feel free to address the Senate as a whole or any Senate member directly.

Sincerely,

Brian J. Andrews ’01