To the Editor:

Some years ago, I was asked to be a member of an “advisory committee” for The University News. It soon became clear to me that the committee was not what it purported to be: a resource for student editors and reporters. It was as an attempt by the SLU administration to exert control over the paper.

I was the only “lay person” on the committee, the rest were professors, administration and a couple of Scholastic Jesuits. Either I stopped going or the committee was disbanded; I forget, but it was a waste of time.

Now I understand the Board of Trustees is voting to change the charter. I don’t know all of the issues, and the Board certainly has the right to do what it wants, but I think it’s another wasted effort. As far as I know, The University News has done nothing over the years except to train young journalists and editors and win a boatload of awards. Does it occasionally upset the administration? I hope so, because that’s what I did there 25 years ago – and I learned a lot from it. But does this criticism bring dishonor, lawsuits and ridicule to the public image of this great university? Hardly, and that’s because of the measured and professional guidance of its long-time advisor, Avis Meyer.

Meyer won’t be there forever, I understand, but changing the charter can adversely affect the independence and worth of The University News for as long as it exists.

And, really, are there not bigger issues than this for the Board of Trustees to consider?

Sincerely,
Jeff Fister
A&S 1981