"The Post's decision not to publish an April Fools' Edition, in one succinct word, sucks."
To the Editor,
The Post's decision not to publish an April Fools' Edition, in one succinct word, sucks. Your whole staff thinks journalism cannot be delivered via humor? Does Jon Stewart not have news value? Or "Saturday Night Live"? I was forwarded your sanctimonious explanation by other former Posties. We all agree. It's just...wrong.
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I was editor of The Post in 1973-74 and we published The Post-Mortem, a timely parody because in that fractious year, the university's enrollment began tumbling downward, rapidly. The Post was tough on the administration, and so were students and faculty. On one of the last days of the school year, Claude R. Sowle, the president of the university, resigned. He had earlier declared The Post had a "daily death wish for the University." That became the motto of The Post Mortem. I would argue our edition said something pretty spot on about what the atmosphere in Athens was like that year. (The year before, we published The Athens Mess just because the Messenger printed us and we wanted to watch them print their own parody. They weren't happy.)
From what I know, this year you have a university president who wants to move from a historic, dignified home in the center of campus to some out of town McMansion that would be fancy for a Chevy dealer and complains that 29 Park Place has bats. That's wild! I'm sure something else happened, too — like the center of town burned down — but that presidential/bat stuff alone is a great start for a satire issue.
Beyond that, I think The Post is pretty good this year. But editors always screw up and make horrible decisions, eventually. It took you until March 31, which is far into the school year, so good for you.
It just so happens that on March 31, no kidding, I contributed $250 to The Post through University Alumni solicitors (they always call at dinnertime) so I think you should print this letter, and just to amuse one of your benefactors (me), please headline it, “Oh Shut Up, Gramps.”
P.J. Bednarski is an Ohio University alumna and 1973-1974 Editor-in-Chief of The Post. He now resides in Pipersville, Pennsylvania.
