Dear Messrs. Weixlmann, Baworowsky and Lyons,

We, the Editorial Board of The University News, thank you for your prompt response to a letter by one Mr. J. Andrew Ivers published in last week’s issue.
Since you were considerate enough to recognize The University News as a viable forum for civil discourse, we are honored to answer the questions you raised concerning our judgment in publishing Mr. Ivers’ letter.
We have carried out the objective stated in our masthead-to be the voice of the student body-since our establishment in 1921. It is our policy to publish letters to the editor that address timely issues of concern to the Saint Louis University community, such as the letters you so obligingly submitted. This sort of public forum is exactly what a newspaper is for.
Though we often call for you, the administration, to proffer your opinion, you rarely deign to join the conversation, leaving us in futile soliloquy.
Your responses this week, however, were delightful. They prove that we are doing our job effectively, since our snappy layout obviously caught your eye.
If we had known that all it took to get your attention was a bit of name-calling, we would have done it months ago.
What we really desire is an open line of communication. The “collegial” atmosphere you reference should foster transparency between students and administrators. It is a pity that it has taken so many months to illicit a response from DuBourg Hall.
It is also intriguing that you responded to Mr. Ivers when it is we, The University News, who addressed student stipends on more than five separate occasions during the past year. When you write a letter to the editor, you are writing to us, not to our contributors.
How dare you call for “civil discourse” when we have heard naught from your distinguished offices all year? Discourse, as we recall, involves dialogue between two parties. We need your input and embrace your criticism as well as your praise-our dialogue cannot move forward without it.
This editorial board first called for civil discourse with the administration, namely Fr. Biondi, in July. The offer made then still stands: If you are ready for “civil discourse,” redeem the coupon, printed in good faith, on Jul. 27, 2006-we’ve waited long enough.