The Observer, March 7, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 20
Obvious form letters should not be printed
To the Editor:
I was disappointed to see an Obama-hit-job letter from a gentleman living in Londonderry, N.H., in the Feb. 29 Observer. I'm sure that there are CWRU alumni living in Londonderry, but the weak arguments and lack of critical reasoning (which would have probably gotten me a B had I turned in the same thing in my eighth grade writing class) put forth in that letter made me suspicious, so I did a cursory Google search on Friday afternoon and was unsurprised to discover that Mr. Moskowitz is not an alumnus Observer reader, but just a serial letter writer.
He has had letters to the editor published in the Union Leader (Manchester, N.H.), the Derry News (Derry, N.H.), on seacoastonline.com and fosters.com (both of which serve New Hampshire), and in the newspapers of Southern Methodist University (in Texas) and Ohio University, as well as perhaps more places that better Googling would reveal. What is notable about these letters is that they are identical, word-for-poorly-written-word, to each other and to his letter in The Observer! In fact, their publishing dates imply that Mr. Moskowitz simply churns out this same letter to newspapers when primary time comes in that area.
I'm certainly not one to suggest restricting the rights to be heard of those who write good-faith letters to the editors of newspapers outside their local area, but sending out the same letter time and time again to different places simply because they are politically important is not in good faith. Shame on The Observer for printing such an obvious form letter at the expense of giving a CWRU student his or her chance to be heard.
Greg Lowell
Undergraduate student
Editor's note: Obvious form letters are normally not printed. The one in question was not properly scrutinized, and The Observer apologizes for the oversight. No letters from CWRU constituents were cut to make space for the letter.
