What a fiasco WSU leaders have created for themselves. Not only are they guilty of discarding the First Amendment, they’ve turned a $100,000 power grab into incalculable negative PR with stakeholders and alumni. Nicely done. The good news is, students of PR will be able to use this as a case study in what not to do. As an early Elliott School alum, I met its benefactor Oliver Elliott. He donated the money that launched the ESC because of his experience working on The Sunflower. I think if leadership finds the newspaper so distasteful, the least they can do is refund the money to the Elliott family. What a slap in the face to that act of generosity.

—Denice Bradbury

In the last several years, Wichita State has been caught in a downward spiral. A future YMCA presence on campus means I’m paying $220 in student fees for one three credit hour class? If I’m paying hundreds of dollars a semester on top of tuition, I think President Bardo and the Student Government Association can afford to double The Sunflower’s funding, instead of the cut they proposed this week.

—Jacob Meister

Perhaps after witnessing the incessant and unfair pummeling that news outlets across the nation have endured for the past 18 months or so, Wichita State administrators and student government leaders thought that bullying journalists for doing their jobs was accepted practice. No doubt the recent swell of support for The Sunflower has been instructive: Journalism remains valuable and valued for broadening the community’s vision and understanding beyond the authorized view or official interests.

—Laura Kelly, WSU alum