Formal Action

Kudos to Professor Serafin Mendez-Mendez, who sent this letter to the ENTIRE campus community (faculty, staff, students):


Dear Dr. Toston and President Miller,

After a long day of consultation with legal counsel and members of the campus community, I am writing to file a formal judicial complaint against Mr. Mark Rowan, Editor-in-Chief of the Campus Recorder and his editorial staff comprised of Mr. Christopher Boulay, Jamie Paakkonen, Conrad Ajier, Samantha Sullivan, Stephanie Bergeron and Justin Lokczo. In a cartoon that appeared on page16 of the September 12 issue of "The Recorder" (V. 104 No. 2), Mr. Rowan and his editorial board have engaged in hateful speech directed towards Latinos. Such a speech is in direct violation to the "Student Code of Conduct," Connecticut General Statutes and Federal statutes governing prescribing free and hateful speech.

As a Latino faculty member, I feel threatened by such speech in my workplace. As such, I respectfully request the immediate suspension of Mr. Rowan and his Editorial Board as students of this university. Scores of Latino students and faculty also feel threatened by such malicious and hateful speech and feel that their presence in the campus is a threat to us.

Pursuant to the dispositions of the Student Handbook, I request that judicial procedures be started immediately. I also wish to note that I reserve my right to pursue civil and/or criminal prosecution of Mr. Rowan, and his editorial staff.

As a former member of the Journalistic Integrity Task Force, I fought hard to protect the rights of free speech. However, there is a distinction between free speech and hateful speech. The speech conveyed by The Recorder is hateful to the core and I am not willing to stand by it and be submitted to harassment, intimidation, and mental anguish by them.

Respectfully,

Serafin Mendez-Mendez, Ph.D
Professor and Chair
Department of Communication