Firing the Spectrum's professional staff was a grievous decision

We, as former members of The Spectrum Student Periodical Inc. at the University at Buffalo, find the current Board of Director's decision to fire Debbie Smith and Helene Polley and attempt to rehire them as part-time staff to be detestable, deplorable, and otherwise despicable.

We condemn this action, and view it as an attack on the future viability of the publication. Removing two highly competent staff members and replacing them with unpaid interns will diminish The Spectrum's ability to work with advertisers and the University at Buffalo community, both of which have come to expect stable relationships with working professionals when dealing with the publication.

If the Board of Directors made the decision in an effort to decrease costs, they should have considered cutting stipends and color pages in the print product. The class credits, portfolio, and experience that come with working at The Spectrum are more than worth a student's effort and time.

The newspaper has been around for over 60 years. We will be surprised if it lasts 10 more if these are the kinds of judgements the staff has decided to make. As Spectrum alumni, this is certainly something we will keep in mind when we consider providing donations to the paper as our careers progress.