To the Editor,
A recent editorial—“Campus News bulletin biased and irresponsible,” January 22—criticizes Rensselaer’s Office of Communications for sending the Institute’s statement about the delayed union election to the campus community via Campus.News.
Campus.News was created as a means to deliver Rensselaer information electronically to the campus community. On a weekly basis, Campus.News provides features about students and faculty, construction updates, and other events. When deemed appropriate, it also is used to disseminate important informational bulletins or statements. Rensselaer has an obligation to inform the campus about current events as well as the Institute’s position with regard to those events.
The statement criticized in the editorial was Rensselaer’s position on the delayed union election. The same statement was sent to reporters at The Record and The Times-Union in response to articles about the allegations of unfair labor practices filed with the National Labor Relations Board. These articles quoted union officials but not Rensselaer. Since it was likely that many students, faculty, and staff members had read the coverage in the local newspapers, the decision was made to disseminate the statement through Campus.News to promote informed discussion of both sides of the issue.
The Polytechnic editors correctly noted that there are two—often more—sides to every story. The Institute provided its side of the story through Campus.News to give each individual the opportunity to weigh both Rensselaer’s and the union’s views and form his or her own opinion.
David Haviland ’64
Vice President,
Institute Advancement
