To students, faculty, and staff—

I would like to preface this editorial with the statement that we release as an editorial board in every issue:

“The Saint Anselm Crier encourages the free, timely and responsible discussion of all topics, issues, and concerns. The views expressed in the editorial and opinion pages of The Crier are those of the writers and not necessarily those of this student newspaper or of Saint Anselm College.”

A recent opinion piece that was published in our seventh, and last, issue of the semester has received a considerable amount of attention. It was directed towards the members of our community who have been monumentally brave in expressing themselves through the placement of gay and trans pride flags around campus.

I, personally, both as a member of the LGBTQ community and our Anselmian community, have been beyond thrilled to see this kind of initiative taken on campus to represent a community that is otherwise overlooked the majority of the year.

Over the past semester, I myself have written two articles in support of the LGBTQ community: one regarding the ongoing attack on transgender folks and the other addressing the homophobic past of the Salvation Army.

As an editorial board, we give students the chance to send in their opinions because this is your student newspaper. We are in support of our students’ right to share their opinions with the school. To deny a student that right, we are denying them their right to free speech.

However, our Culture editor, Meghan Schmitt, made the following statement that I believe deserves notice:

“The editorial team of the Crier does not espouse any of the beliefs published in our newspaper except for the editorials which we write. The Opinion section is meant as a platform for the students of Saint Anselm College, which is a bipartisan campus. This openness means that some of our editions may skew in a certain direction because students who feel strongly about their political background are taking advantage of the Crier’s policy. That is not to say that The Crier is not open to the other side of the conversation. We promote honest and free discussion.”

I am encouraging everyone on this campus who has an issue with the recent article published to write in to The Crier. There will be an editorial in the first issue of the spring semester that will address this situation more in depth.

Articles that are sent to either myself ([email protected]) or The Crier ([email protected]) may be uploaded to The Crier website in the meantime in response to the original opinion piece. They will also be published in the Opinion section in the spring.