The editor and staff of the Herald made a really poor decision to publish the article on WKU’s decision to fire Amy Eckhardt from her position in the Office of Scholar Development.

Are there journalists at the Herald who are interested in getting the whole story on an issue?

If you read her termination letter (which you had no problem posting on your website, another rather distasteful act), you would clearly see that Eckhardt is prevented from speaking with “any other campus or off campus entities regarding the Honors College, Chinese Flagship, or the Office of Scholar Development that is connected to ongoing or future WKU business.”  

If she violated this order, she would have forfeited her April 30 paycheck.

I cannot fault Eckhardt for wishing to remain silent at this time. But, seriously – was it necessary for this story to be published on April 18? Could the editor have waited until after April 30 so that she could have been given a realistic opportunity to respond?

I think we should hold our university newspaper to a higher standard than this.

Jerry Daday

Associate professor, sociology