To the Editor,
As an avid reader and very frequent letter writer to The Swarthmorean, I have followed with great interest the events and controversy associated with the decision of editor Rachel Pastan and associate editor Satya Nelms to resign. Let me start with my conclusion: both of these women were professionals who made a dramatic improvement in the style and content of The Swarthmorean. I, for one, am very sorry to see them go. I am not going to cancel my subscription to the paper, but to the publishers I will say that you are making a mistake in forcing these women to resign out of conscience.
I wonder if it was really the community that was put off by the new editorial stance, or if it was the publishers. The Swarthmore community reflects the socially progressive and liberal Quaker philosophy of Swarthmore College, and I would be both surprised and dismayed if The Swarthmorean’s publishers really received much pushback against the paper’s progressive stance on social and racial justice and equality for all.
I believe that The Swarthmorean will be diminished by the loss of editors Pastan and Nelms. I hope that the future is bright for them (and for The Swarthmorean as well).
Ken Derow
Swarthmore
