Letter to the Editor: An open forum necessary for inflammatory piece

I am extremely disappointed by The Weekly editors' decision to disable comments on the Web version of last week's cover piece, "Hazed: A Greek Tragedy." The "sensitive nature of the story," which an Editor's Note cited as a reason for shutting down public comments, is exactly why the feedback mechanism needs to be there.

An exposé like "Hazed" directly affects people's lives and reputations by making controversial and potentially damaging claims, and readers should not be denied the right to give unfiltered responses, especially when they have that right in every other article on The Daily Web site.

Since the publication of the piece, I've heard many conversations around campus questioning the accuracy and the ethics of the reporting. That discussion needs to be had in an open forum where no opinion is discounted and all interested parties have equal and immediate access. The editors' decision to selectively disable online feedback tells me not that they're concerned about potentially distasteful comments, but that they're trying to get away with publishing a sensational piece without having to confront tough questions from its readers

- James Shih

Medill senior

Former Daily?columnist