From our side

During the tenure of David Sommers? service as editor in chief of The State Hornet, a potential challenge to freedom of the press arose when Sommers refused to hand over photographs and notes subpoenaed in a criminal case. Sommers faced potential fines resulting from contempt of court charges. The specter of significant legal fees also loomed on the horizon. Fortunately, neither of these costs was incurred, but the incident raised larger financial questions relating to university liability. President Donald Gerth?s answer to these liability questions included a plan to require Presidential approval of The State Hornet?s annual operating budget. Gerth promised he would not use his veto power to influence editorial content. Citing First Amendment concerns, the Hornet staff found such a plan unacceptable, even with the President?s pledge.

As chair of The State Hornet?s Publications Board, the task fell to me to attempt a negotiated settlement of this conflict. I believe we have found an integrative solution by changing the job description of the publication?s General Manager. The GM will report to the Chair of the Communication Studies Department. Such a move will establish the necessary liability link to the University while allowing the Publications Board to remain as the publisher of an independent student newspaper. Under this negotiated settlement the President will not exercise budget approval over The State Hornet.

Some questions still remain, but I believe we have the framework of an agreement that will leave all parties satisfied. Contrary to the March 20 article in The Hornet, the President will not get final budget approval by having the General Manager report to Communication Studies. First Amendment protections remain in place.

More importantly, the President did not impose this change on the newspaper. What the article forgot to mention was that the Publications Board had already voted to move the General Manager to Communication Studies. The editor in chief, the managing editor and the news editor all voted for the change. This solution is not an attempt by Gerth to “vie for control of the Hornet,” as stated in the article?s headline. Rather, this alternative protects the well-intentioned interests of both the University and The State Hornet.

Val R. Smith

Chair, The State Hornet

Publications Board

In Ireland…

I agree with Ryan Flatley?s March 13 column “A holiday for drinkers” in the aspect that the Irish have a great sense of humor. However, in the rest of the article there are some wrong remarks. I know many people think that Ireland is a very religious country. We are in some ways, but Ireland is in no way as religious as it once was. And St. Patrick?s day is not a religious holiday anymore.

We do attend church on St. Patrick?s day because St. Patrick brought Catholicism to Ireland, but after church is over we usually go to the local pub and drink until the wee hours of the morning. It is true that St. Patrick?s day is celebrated more in America then Ireland, but it isn?t that religious anymore in Ireland. I know, I?m Irish.

Olivia De Mars

History major

How to minimize tickets

I read the article about parking citations on campus and wanted to share a couple of tips with you, and trust me, I am qualified to talk about parking tickets. I usually donate about $100 to the free shuttle system on campus (paid through Parking and Transportation by parking citations), with about five citations per year, even though I have a Faculty/Staff parking permit. I actually went through the whole appeal process one time and ended up going to court against Parking and Transportation (and no, I lost).What I wanted to share with my fellow hard working students, who try to juggle working, having a life and going to class when they can find parking, are a few tips that will actually result in getting a lower ticket.

The information is pretty simple and proven to work. If you have to park in 30-minute or Faculty spaces, remove your student parking permit, and park there anyway. If you?re lucky, you can finish your class quickly and not get a ticket. However, if you do get a ticket it would be “overtime parking” for $14 if you?re parked in a 30 minute space, or “no valid permit in view” if you?re in a faculty lot, which will cost $17. Both of these tickets are cheaper than having your student permit in view and getting the “not parked in designated area” violation, which results in a $19 ticket. See, simple and proven to work!

Mohamed R. Hamada

Graduate student

Have a gripe? Send it to the only true student forum on campus by e-mailing our editor in chief at [email protected].

More letters can be seen at www.statehornet.com.

Send comments, questions, or concerns to [email protected].

For questions orinformation regarding the site, please contact [email protected]