n After reading Sara Vasquez’s apology (“Vasquez apologizes,” May 2, p. 6), I’m still wondering why the whole thing was blown so much out of proportion, mainly by The Daily Free Press.

Vasquez’s immaturity shines through, not because she failed to contact her friends and “check in” with them (which she actually did), but because she allowed herself to be so intoxicated that she was unable to remove herself from a situation in which, according to her friend, she was being taken advantage of at the club. And she was not the only irresponsible party in this affair.

The Free Press performed its reporting duties to an unacceptable degree of ineptitude. Facts were misconstrued without a secondary source, and analysis of the situation was heavily influenced by hearsay and rumor.

I used to read the Free Press every day as an undergraduate, and I still look over the email edition for news of the university. However, these journalistic errors make me question the validity of the Free Press as a news source.

Vasquez conducted herself in a highly inappropriate manner, and I hope she doesn’t reflect the attitude of newly matriculated students at Boston University. The article was poorly researched, and because of that, it instigated a sense of fear and alarm in the BU community.

I expect the Free Press to be a news source, not an incendiary. I hope that article does not come to reflect the level of writing I can expect from the staff.

Schirin Tang

CAS ’06