Letter to the Editor: Residents of 41 Erie St.
Issue date: 11/4/09 Section: Campus Talk
To the editor,
We, the patrons of 41 Erie St., are writing in regard to last week's cover article, "Premise Checks - The battle against underage drinking." The story explains the efforts of the Brockport Police Dept., along with a section of the Rochester Police, to combat underage, and specifically, binge drinking. We all feel it is important for The Stylus to report on these actions and convey to its readers the adverse consequences of attending and/or hosting such an event.
However, in this article, our house was mentioned as a location where an alleged underage drinking party was taking place. The mention of 41 Erie St. was also accompanied by a map on Page four (nearly one-quarter page large) which illustrated the exact location of our house.
One day after this story was published, our landlord confronted us, saying he will personally be watching our house, which is undoubtedly an added burden on his life, but one he explained was necessary following the publishing of this article. He even tossed the idea of eviction around.
We fully understand The Stylus' obligation to report anything the staff feels is pertinent to the story, but we feel it was wrong and unfair to include our house number in the article because no member of our house was charged or convicted with an offense. There is no evidence suggesting that we broke the law that night, and the mention of our house number had no bearing on the overall effectiveness of the story.
Not only has this article given our house and its residents a bad rap for no proven reason, but it has also placed an unnecessary burden on the landowner. We fully understand our landlord is completely justified in threatening us with eviction, as well as making repeated weekend visits to watch over our house. In his defense, he is simply trying to ensure that events such as those implied in the story do not occur at any residence listed in his name. He should not have to handle the stress of having his property libeled in The Stylus in such a negative manner.
We, the patrons of 41 Erie St., are writing in regard to last week's cover article, "Premise Checks - The battle against underage drinking." The story explains the efforts of the Brockport Police Dept., along with a section of the Rochester Police, to combat underage, and specifically, binge drinking. We all feel it is important for The Stylus to report on these actions and convey to its readers the adverse consequences of attending and/or hosting such an event.
However, in this article, our house was mentioned as a location where an alleged underage drinking party was taking place. The mention of 41 Erie St. was also accompanied by a map on Page four (nearly one-quarter page large) which illustrated the exact location of our house.
One day after this story was published, our landlord confronted us, saying he will personally be watching our house, which is undoubtedly an added burden on his life, but one he explained was necessary following the publishing of this article. He even tossed the idea of eviction around.
We fully understand The Stylus' obligation to report anything the staff feels is pertinent to the story, but we feel it was wrong and unfair to include our house number in the article because no member of our house was charged or convicted with an offense. There is no evidence suggesting that we broke the law that night, and the mention of our house number had no bearing on the overall effectiveness of the story.
Not only has this article given our house and its residents a bad rap for no proven reason, but it has also placed an unnecessary burden on the landowner. We fully understand our landlord is completely justified in threatening us with eviction, as well as making repeated weekend visits to watch over our house. In his defense, he is simply trying to ensure that events such as those implied in the story do not occur at any residence listed in his name. He should not have to handle the stress of having his property libeled in The Stylus in such a negative manner.
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