Democracy in a two-party system has the potential to be divisive. While the spirit of democracy is to bring the citizenship together in a spirit of communal choice, those who disagree on candidates and issues often end up at odds. This is generally unavoidable, but it is bad form for a candidacy to speak out against the supporters of another camp.

Political smear campaigns, while commonplace, are nonetheless lamentable. We would argue that most voters see mud-slinging as childish, but again, due to its prevalence, this is almost expected. A recent series of campaign fliers for the SGA election is, however, unexpected and even further lamentable.

NONSENSE magazine has publicly endorsed the DiSilvio/Cruz ticket and some of our members have lent support to the campaign with graphics and fliers. In what can only be viewed as an apparent response to this, the opposing ticket has begun running a series of fliers with the slogan “NO NONSENSE” printed on it. It should be noted that neither Peter DiSilvio nor Carlos Cruz are members or contributors to NONSENSE, and everything NONSENSE has ever printed about DiSilvio has been, at best, slanderous and defamatory.

The “NO NONSENSE” fliers have done something rather impressive: offended the members of a college humor publication. Looking around the office of that publication, it’s easy to see that this group is not an easy bunch to ruffle the proverbial feathers of. There is no reason to devalue and borderline defame the dedicated work of a group of students that provides one of the liveliest publications on campus. Love it or hate it, NONSENSE is unbridled expression, and the devaluation of that is unprovoked, unnecessary, unkind and I would argue, unacceptable.

So NONSENSE poses this question: Which is a greater display of “nonsense?” Publicly, honorably and consistently supporting a candidate whose ideals we agree with, or lambasting an organization that has chosen to support another candidate?

While we are aware that this editorial will not go to print until the day following the close of the polls, NONSENSE still feels that this statement is relevant to the student body of this university, if only to expose the divisiveness of not just Hofstra’s student politics, but politics in general.

Editors Nick Psillas and Jon Hanford on behalf of the staff of NONSENSE Humor Magazine