After serious consideration The Daily has asked Steven Monacelli and Ani Ajith to step down from their positions as Daily columnists. Today marks the last time their columns will run Fall Quarter. The decision was made in an effort to preserve the integrity of our ethics code and is not at all reflective of the quality of the work both Monacelli and Ajith have contributed this quarter. Their work for The Daily – Ajith has also served as a city desk writer in previous quarters – has been unimpeachable.
The Daily regrets loyal readers of Monacelli and Ajith’s columns will no longer be able to read their opinions in these pages.
When columnists were selected for Fall Quarter, The Daily was aware Monacelli and Ajith both hold positions within ASG: community relations vice president and off-campus senator, respectively.
The ground rule for their work with The Daily was two-fold: The columnists would not address topics which overlapped with their work with ASG and Daily writers would avoid using either staffer as a source in articles. While both columnists upheld the first requirement, The Daily increasingly finds itself in a position where it can no longer honor its end of the agreement.
As certain off-campus issues, most notably The Daily’s coverage of controversial over-occupancy laws, necessitate more coverage, The Daily believes it would be a disservice to readers to not potentially include Monacelli and Ajith as sources in these articles. As such, their work as Daily staffers would directly violate the intent of our ethics code – to always maintain objectivity and transparency in our reporting.
Katherine Driessen
Editor in Chief, The Daily Northwestern
