Letters to the Editor

The B-School Edition

It's rare that the Every Three Weekly gets a chance to participate in any "real" journalism, but this month we just couldn't resist. This last month, for the November issue, we decided to resume distribution at the B-School after an absence of a couple years. Below is an email chain between faculty members at the Ross School of Business that was forwarded to us by an anonymous source (which means, strangely enough, that we have at least one fan out there). The letters below are edited for formatting and to remove the names of those involved. All other portions of the emails have been unaltered.

-----Original Message-----
From: *Admissions Director 1*
Sent: Friday, December 01, 2006 8:47 AM
To: *Assistant Dean 1*
Subject: Offensive Newspaper

I don't know if you've ever noticed the student publication, (The publication
name was removed, but it's a reference to the E3W and
our November front page about Proposal 2 - Ed) but it appears from time
to time and is an attempted sarcastic take on the Daily. The most recent
issue had some content that offended some of our African American Students.
Can we restrict the paper from making it available on our premises? I'm not
sure that the students are going to want to go that way, but I need to know
if it's an option.

I'm thinking the paper may claim free speech, but Larry Flynt and
Hustler are protected by free speech and we wouldn't have to let them
give away copies in our lobby, Please let me know what we are able to
do here. Thanks.**.

*Contact info deleted*

-----Original Message-----
From: **Assistant Dean 1**
Sent: Friday, December 01, 2006 8:52 AM
To: **Admissions Director 1**
Subject: RE: Offensive Newspaper

We've been known to remove publications from our premises and take a
chance with the lawsuits.
Some females complained about the Sat FB pgms because of déjà vu ads.
We just tossed them.
I've noted the supposed satire in this publication goes over the line.
I don't think we want to go thru telling them not to deliver it, but
why don't we just agree to toss 'em out when they get here?! ***

###################################################################### #Second Email

-----Original Message-----
From: ***Email Address Removed***
Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 1:21 PM
To: **Student 1**
Subject: Quick Thank You

Hello **Associate Dean 1**,

I just wanted to thank you for two things:

1. Thank you for doing a "day in the life of" with our section.
Our class was really impressed that you took the time to see campus as
we see it / experience it. Your time with us showed us your commitment
to the program.

2. Thank you for replacing the "college football" magazines in
the lobby. While I love football, I believe that advertisements for
gentlemen's clubs are around enough and do not need to be in an
academic building. I understand that there a lot of men here, but like
to think of Michigan as a "family friendly" and respectful
environment.

Thank you again for your time.

Sincerely,

***Name Removed***

Ed. Note--Yes, it is of the utmost importance that the University of Michigan, instead of being a premier institution for research, critical thinking, and intellectual development, is, first and foremost, "family-friendly." We want to make sure that we're a university rated number one for ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages--and we encourage the administration to begin work on a U of M petting zoo, a few elephant-ear stands, and such family-friendly rides as the "BCS Standings Emotional Roller Coaster" and "Guess the Crushing Weight of Political Correctness."
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
From: **Associate Dean 1**
Sent: Tuesday, October 10, 2006 2:39 PM
To: ***Name Removed***
Cc: **Contact Email Removed**
Subject: RE: Quick Thank You

Thanks for the kind words, ***Name Removed***. I enjoyed the day and found it very
insightful in a number of important ways.

We'll keep working to keep the atmosphere around here as comfortable
and welcoming is possible. Please let us know if you see other issues
that might help us towards that goal.

Best,
****

**Contact Info Removed**

What we love most about these emails, besides that they are written by grown men and women who should know to act better but do not, is the fact that they do not speak to our organization directly. Those involved have decided that they know what's best for their students and everybody else be damned. This is not restricted to only destroying copies of the Every Three Weekly, but also destroying other publications that those in the administration deem offensive, as admitted above.

While some of your students and faculty may find our jokes offensive, what we find offensive is your perpetuation of over-the-top political correctness. Your students have the option of not picking up a paper if they don't want to read what we have to write. It's just the same as if they might avoid reading the Michigan Review or the Michigan Daily because they don't agree with the editorial content. The E3W is paid for by student tuition money, and to assume that your opinion on what is over the line is justification enough for the destruction of student property is nothing more than unbridled arrogance. To top it off, your comment about chancing the lawsuits leads us to believe that you think it may even be borderline illegal, which just compounds the self-righteousness of your actions.

As we believe the students should have the final say, we encourage any and all interested in the matter to contact members of the Ross School of Business. After a long debate, we have chosen not to print the names of those involved because they're not that important. There are appropriate channels of contact at the Ross School of Business and we are confident that they will be able to answer any questions you may have about this issue. If you're not offended by the fact that the Business School administration is deciding for you what is appropriate to read, maybe you should just be offended that they're wasting your tuition money (even more than we are).

You can start by emailing the Office of Student Life for the Business School at studentlife@umich.edu. According to their website, they handle student affairs at the B-School and we're sure this falls under their department. If that doesn't work, you can always contact the dean Robert Dolan at rjdolan@umich.edu or his assistant Audra Asher at amasher@umich.edu. (Please note, the inclusion of these email addresses is not an indicator of the guilty parties, they are merely the most appropriate contact information for people at the Business School) Feel free to CC threeweeks@umich.edu and let us know how you feel as well. The student body is owed an apology and you should be sure that you get it.

We sincerely hope the people involved understand that we will never waver from our ideals--which include being inordinately funny at least 60% the time. We will continue to distribute to the B-school just as we try to distribute to every building on campus every month. The only real objective we have on the staff is ripping apart hypersensitive people and political correctness. We will continue to do this, and those at the B-school can expect to be reminded of it by the batch of fresh, piping hot Every Three Weeklys at their doorstep, hilariously, once every four weeks.

- The Eds

Back