I am Zachary Emerton's aunt and I read the article you posted on the front page of your newspaper March 20 ("Student Death Confirmed Suicide"). I am quite sure that my sister, Zach's mom, would not have approved of your article. I met some of the people you interviewed in the article and feel that they would not have spoken with you had they known you were going to write such an article and post it on the front page. This is clearly an example of sensationalism and tabloid type writing.
My family and Zach's friends have suffered enough in this tragedy without you and your paper using his death as your "feature front." This article was in complete disregard of Zach's privacy and respect in his last hours. I only hope that you never lose someone to this type of tragedy and know the devastation of the loss privately, much less publicly.
I know you have a job to do as a journalist and a newspaper, but I feel the article should not have been on the front page, should not have included his personal photograph and information, and should have concentrated on the availability of counseling. I hope as you grow in journalism and a newspaper, that you learn to incorporate dignity and the human side of a story over and above any cold hard "facts" just to sell your product. I would like to thank Kathryn Bottonari, the UB student who responded to the article about Zach. She showed courage and human decency by her statement.
