In response to the letter that appeared in the April 15, 2009 edition and was written by Sean Howard:

The dismissal of Marissa Blaszko from the position of Opinion Editor is not a matter of free speech; it is a matter of ethics.

While everyone has a right to their own opinion it was unethical for Ms. Blaszko to sign her name to the petition, especially since she identified herself as an Editor for The Recorder. Doing so was a conflict of interest and a breach of the paper’s code of ethics. Additionally, signing the petition harmed her credibility (as well as The Recorder’s) because it gave the impression that she was representing the political views of the overall newspaper. 

This does not mean that anyone who once demonstrated for a political belief or opinion is not welcomed by The Recorder. It means that people, who demonstrate their opinions publicly while serving on The Recorder’s staff, will be subject to penalties for violating their code of ethics. 

Finally, it is my opinion that The Recorder should remain objective when it comes to politics because they represent the entire school. It would be unfair for the paper or any of their staff members to promote a certain belief in any way when other members of the campus may not share that same view. 

Heather Lusebrink

CCSU student

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I’m writing today to express my outrage with the Recorder’s decision to fire its opinion editor for being prominent in campus activism. When I found this out I couldn’t believe that of all publications, the Recorder, which was so indignant about the protection of their first amendment rights back in the Mark Rowan days, had fired Marissa Blaszko for exercising the same freedoms you demand as an organization. As a student and regular reader of the Recorder, I am upset that student activity fees support a club (and yes, the Recorder is just a club) that discriminates based on one’s personal political beliefs. I feel as though your readers deserve a more meaningful explanation and response to these accusations especially since on page three of your April 15th issue, you published an article about students who are in support of decriminalizing marijuana. From this, should readers believe that the Recorder leans in favor of marijuana decriminalization? Should the university expel these students for expressing their beliefs on campus because (as you put it) “it creates the opportunity for all viewers and readers to believe that the paper has a certain leaning”? After all, these students represent the school, which ultimately represents your newspaper. Besides, it is already obvious to your readership that the Recorder is generally a more liberal and progressive leaning publication. I didn’t see any conflict of interest with Marissa’s devotion to activism outside of her work as an editor and I demand her reinstatement as opinion editor. Furthermore, this is a gross neglect of the university to uphold the Constitution and I demand a better explanation for the firing of Marissa Blaszko.

Fondly,

Mark Tomasino

CCSU student