An Open Letter to board and other members of the FMSA, and any other
interested parties at the university of debrecen medical school

Misunderstanding of roles about my position as editor of the FMSA newspaper.

The latest (and last for this year) edition of the FMSA newspaper has
been sent to the printers.

This has resulted in a very surprising backlash toward me about not
having it ‘approved’ by the president and vice president(s?) for
publication before it was sent off. I must make my positoin clear that

as editor, it is – BY DEFINITION – MY responsibility to get the paper
published, and therefore I am the one with the creative control to
have its contents approved. That is, again, by definition, what an
editor does. Otherwise my title would be type-setter, author,
photographer, contributor, or something else of that nature (all of
which are jobs that i have also gladly been doing), but not editor.

My current printing guidelines are:
1) to print, verbatim, all articles written and contributed by each
and every fmsa member.
2) to print, with as little editing as possible, all articles written
by any fmsa student so long as their articles fit these guidelines.
3) to discourage anonymous contributions, but not ban them, and
consider them on a case by case basis.
4)) to accommodate, as much as possible, any and all articles by the
administration or staff, should they wish to contribute (ei – like the
notices from the English office that we are asked once in a while to
forward to students).
5) to accommodate, under the full guidance of president and financial
officer, any and all advertising they may have negotiated for the
fmsa.
6) to maintain a level of good taste and humour, without profanity,
and report on events that affect the lives of students at the
university of debrecen medical school, both in and around the school,
particularly FMSA events.

my other goals as editor for next year include
a) a pre-determined publication schedule of roughly 3, 4, or 5
editions per semester. (to be discussed by the fmsa board members)
b) in addition to any other articles you may wish to write, to ask
each fmsa member to write brief mid and end semester report about the
issues and resolutions facing your particular post.
c) to enlist as many student contributors as possible to make this a
true student newspaper. It is my contention that rather than be an
fmsa pamphlet, the fmsa newspaper must play its role as a ’student
newspaper’ facilitated by the FMSA.

it is my firm belief that my strict adherence to these guidelines
(points that i am very receptive to hearing opinions about through
discussion with the FMSA’s other members) removes any further need for
approval of the content of the paper. again – *I* am the editor.

I recognize that my view of the paper’s role may not be shared by
everybody else, but this is the direction in which it will be steered
under my guidance. While another editor may have taken the paper in
another direction, my post was uncontested at the FMSA elections, and
having been awarded the post as incumbent, i fully expect that i be
allowed to continue to run the paper as i deem appropriate.

I look forward to reading your positions on this matter.

Yours,