To our readers,
We cannot apologize sincerely enough to all those who were offended by the inexcusable editorial judgment exercised in Monday’s annual print-only April Fools’ Day issue of The Daily Free Press. The Free Press has worked tirelessly for nearly 42 years to be an outlet for fair, intelligent student journalism. It is our aim as an independent, nonprofit organization to be a voice for the student body, and Monday’s issue was a black mark on our reputation as such.
In making the ultimate decision to run many of the articles, however well-intentioned, fictional or joking they may have been, Editor-in-Chief Chelsea Diana in no way perpetuated our values as an organization. In light of this, we have asked that Chelsea Diana resign as editor-in-chief of The Daily Free Press and president of the Board of Directors of Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc. and she has accepted. Campus news editor Steph Solis, who was selected to be Fall 2012 editor-in-chief, will be stepping in to fill both positions effective immediately.
Considering the events of this semester and the increasingly vocal, constructive climate of conversation about sexual assault and many other important issues on campus, much of the content of Monday’s issue was incredibly harmful, tasteless and out of line. We have long taken pride in our aggressive and thoughtful treatment of these topics; while the integrity of that coverage is certainly compromised, we hope that together we can move forward and return to the high standards we most often seek to uphold.
Sincerely,
Annie Ropeik
Board of Directors Chairwoman
Spring 2010 Editor-in-Chief
[email protected]
(co-signed: Board of Directors of Back Bay Publishing Co., Inc.)
Read Chelsea Diana’s initial apology letter here.