Dear Editor,
I refer to the letter of Mr Creighton captioned “Several members of the university staff have spoken to the media on various issues” (07.10.16) in which he imputes ulterior motives to the Kaieteur News in the paper’s relationship with me because he had a conversation with the editor of KN about sending a letter and I came to know about that fact.
It is discomforting to know that Mr Creighton can attack the most fearless and courageous student leader UG has seen, Mr. Jason Benjamin, instead of encouraging the young man to show leadership. All over Guyana and in the Diaspora, there is the lamentation that the students at UG are too timid. Mr Creighton and the UG administration are fearful of Mr Benjamin because he is not someone that would remain silent in the face of a mountain of shortcomings on the part of the UG administration.
Mr Creighton attributes the culture of conspiracy to Kaieteur News and Mr Benjamin because that is the culture Mr Creighton belongs to. First, I got to know that Mr Creighton sent a letter to KN that he later withdrew without it being told to me in any secretive way. I gave Mr Mike Baptiste, KN’s letters editor, a reply to Mr Creighton’s missive which appeared in SN. My reply to that correspondence was also published in SN.
In front of Mr Adam Harris, the editor of KN, Mr Baptiste sought Mr Harris’ advice on publishing my reply because he felt that the issue was confined to Stabroek and in any case Mr Creighton had promised to re-send a letter he withdrew. Both men felt that my letter should wait until Mr Creighton sent back his. I disagreed pointing to the lapse of a week and there was no movement from Mr Creighton. I suggested that since the subject was in the public domain, the publication of my letter should not wait on Mr Creighton’s timing. I said “suppose he does not send it back?” They agreed and so it was printed. It was the identical missive that appeared in SN only that I inserted a line that informed readers that Mr. Creighton did not forward his composition to the Kaieteur News.
What was conspiratorial about that? I will not meet Mr Creighton point for point on the question of members of UG community’s reluctance to speak to the press. Why should I waste time on what the entire country knows – Guyanese on the whole are not inclined to face the press. I don’t have to prove Mr Creighton wrong on the avoidance the press gets from UG people; the media is quite aware of that. There are numerous non-facts in Mr Creighton’s letter. For example, the Vice-Chancellor never spoke to the press during the great floods of 2005. It would be nice if he can do his research and tell us in what issue of the newspapers that item appeared.
Secondly, there is no comradely conspiracy between the student leader, Mr. Benjamin and I. The two unions have always cooperated at UG. We sat in the Council together and Mr. Benjamin’s contribution to the culture of debate in the Council was tremendous. He took an independent, pro-student line. When his tenure was up, although he was a constant critic of the Council, they moved a motion thanking him for his service. Since he could no longer represent the students in the Council because his time was up, the Council invited him to sit in the search committee to find a new Vice-Chancellor in the capacity of representing youths. This act symbolized the respect that the Council had for Mr Benjamin.
Yours faithfully,
Frederick Kissoon
