Madam,

I was disappointed to read Prof Lee’s criticism (Prosperity of town inextricably tied to success of our university) of Patrick O’Brien’s column in the previous edition of your publication (The human cost of university job losses would be substantial).

As far as I can judge, Mr O’Brien’s piece was a realistic interpretation of the causes and effects of potential job cuts by Aberystwyth University, and particularly commendable for highlighting the human cost of such policy decisions and the need to learn from past mistakes.

Prof Lee believes that “negative perceptions” of the University can have adverse effects on student recruitment, which is no doubt the case, but he did absolutely nothing to rebut any of Mr O’Brien’s views or reasoning. Sometimes the truth can be inconvenient, but in a liberal democracy it is the responsibility of those in the media to report and reflect on it honestly, and that goes at a local level as well as at a national level. As for the rest of us, it is never a good idea to shoot the messenger.

While disagreeing with one of your correspondents, I fully endorse another’s views (Why not selloff collection of run-down properties). Laura Place was once a source of pride and joy for citizens of Aberystwyth but this is no longer the case, with formerly elegant buildings falling into a state of disrepair and decay. The university bears a degree of responsibility for the neglect of this area, and it is something else that reflects badly on the university’s management over a period of time. However, as there is now a sparkly new ‘Aberystwyth’ campus in Mauritius perhaps this is something else we should turn a blind eye to.

Yours etc,

Peter Evans, Comins Coch, Aberystwyth.

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