To the Publishers,
I am writing to express my dismay at the resignation of Swarthmorean editors Satya Nelms and Rachel Pastan and to cancel my subscription.
In your May 13 “Letter From the Publishers” (swat.ink/publishers-letter), you say that a misunderstanding arose from “a conversation we had with our editor about the paper’s editorial balance.” Satya describes your intent this way: “They would like us to return to the fun stuff that used to be in the paper.” I too would like to read fewer heavy and racially charged pieces. I’d love the fun stuff that used to be in the paper. I know everyone is tired. I’m tired. But I imagine my Black neighbors — who still live the reality of white supremacy even in our little town — are way more than tired. I want fewer heavy stories and more fun because I want less racism and more joy to be a reality.
As Jeffery Robinson (founder of the Who We Are project and former deputy legal director of the ACLU) says,“We are at a tipping point in this country...And if we don’t deal with this, it will tear us apart.”
I understand this is a business decision. You are trying to maximize readership by finding “balance.” One way or the other, you are going to lose readers. Given that, I wish you had taken the courageous decision of continuing to publish as many meaningful stories about “race, injustice, politics, education, the environment, and other topics” in our community as your former outstanding editorial staff gave you.
Without these stories, The Swarthmorean becomes less important to read.
Respectfully,
Amy Beth Sisson
Swarthmore