Count me as among those disgusted with the firing of three Daily editors the other day. I hope very sincerely that the publication board quickly reinstates the three employees. In the meantime, the university as a whole has some serious issues to address, chief among them – how can three people be summarily fired on the apparent whim of their boss on such sketchy grounds?

The only specific reason for termination that I was able to discern from the article of Feb. 11 was that Toons readers may or may not “believe that [the Toons advertisement] is the truth” and that will “reflect on the Daily in a negative way.” So Toons, a humor paper, runs an advertisement that explicitly states that what is written is untrue and intended only for comedy, but on the basis that there may be some confusion among the terminally dense, the editor in chief begins termination proceedings.

And what are those termination proceedings? The only suggestion of some process was a vague reference to consultations with “several journalism and mass communications faculty members.” Conspicuous is the absence of either the names of the faculty or their opinions. The thoughts and opinions of the Daily advertising managers and the Daily faculty advisor are also conspicuously missing.

I’m afraid I see absolutely no specific grounds for the firings, which leads me to the question, is it possible that ulterior motives were at work? Was the Toons ad simply a convenient excuse? I don’t know, and that’s the problem. When serious matters like people being fired for misconduct are rammed through without serious justification it leaves a lot of questions that deserve to be answered.

Lets hear from the editor in chief, the faculty members who were consulted, the Daily faculty advisor, and the members of the Daily staff in general, in their own words and uncut. I certainly hope this was merely a case of overreaction on the part of Ms. Hauser. A public airing is the only way to find out.

Nathan Ellefson

ISU Alumnus