Editor’s note:

The Letter to the Editor from a former senior member of Associated Student Government published on April 12, 2018, concerning the merits of then-candidates Sky Patterson and Emily Ash, has been retracted. In looking at the letter and reviewing the editing process, I determined that the letter did not meet The Daily’s editorial standards.

The positions of ASG president and executive vice president open a person up to some public scrutiny, but not to undue criticisms of personal character. The Daily’s opinion section has guidelines when it comes to publishing letters about students. In this specific case, some of those guidelines were not followed.

Some readers may ask why I am making this decision with this particular letter. I cannot correct every problematic or unfair story or column on The Daily’s website. But in this case, the letter was continuing to cause harm to those involved. And, in a few short months, we will be covering another ASG election. In order to ensure fair coverage of the current and future student representatives, I believe it is in the best interest of my reporters, ASG members and the student body that my newspaper makes clear that this type of letter does not meet our standards. I believe leaving the letter up as it was originally published would set an unfortunate and troubling precedent for our opinion section.

–Nora Shelly, Editor in Chief, Nov. 11, 2018