To the Editor:

As I was leaving the Basic Sciences Tower on the evening of Dec. 2, I was fortunate enough to be standing next to The Statesman distribution station when the Dec. 1 issue was delivered. To my dismay, the gentleman distributing the new Statesman removed the old issues — about 25 by my estimate — and deposited them directly into the adjacent waste container.

Several copies of the newest issue were then ripped from their binding to create enough room so that the rest of the bundle could be slid out and placed in the wire rack for distribution. These torn copies of the newest Statesman were jammed on top of the discarded copies of the previous issue. The distributor then abruptly turned around and walked away without giving his actions a second thought.

Sustainability has become a priority of the University President. As one of many on campus who have taken the Green Pledge, I was dismayed at this activity.

Whether the distribution of The Statesman is an internal or contracted affair, I think it is only fitting that your paper and the campus community support the 3 “Rs” — “reduce,” “reuse” and “recycle.”

I hope that this is an isolated incident and that old issues of The Statesman are routinely recycled as a matter of practice. I would hope that The Statesman has considered the handling practices of old issues, and if not, I hope that these issues will be considered in the future.

We all have a role to play, and if sustainability and environmental stewardship are our goal, I hope that The Statesman is as committed to this as the studentry is.

Matthew Bobiak Graduate Student, Molecular and Cellular Biology