Memorial Game Was Not

The Place For Politicking

To the Editor:

On Friday night, October 27, Newtown high School held its annual homecoming football game in loving memory of Greg Chion. Not only was Greg a longtime friend to many of us, but he was also the kindest human being anyone could have known. Sadly, this game, a dedication to everything that Greg stood for, was marred by the presence of congressional candidate Mark Nielsen.

As the second half of the game began, Mr Nielsen stood near the entrance to the field and handed out fliers to campaign against Mr James Maloney for United States Congress. Although we fully acknowledge Mr Nielsen’s right to spread his political message, we felt that his campaign had no place at a memorial game. When initially confronted and informed of the nature of the game, Mr Nielsen claimed that the event did not appear to be “a solemn occasion” and that his presence was unobtrusive. He also stated that if the game was truly supposed to be mournful that the school would not have decided to continue with the homecoming celebration. When it became apparent that, in light of our informing Mr Nielsen of the circumstances, he was not leaving the game, we approached him again. When challenged with whether or not he was capable of representing a group of individuals in Congress, for whom he apparently does not care about, he reiterated that he had every right to be at the game and was doing nothing wrong. Mr Nielsen claimed that since the band was playing and people were laughing, it was clearly not a solemn evening. He didn’t even consider the fact that Greg was one of the band’s drum majors and that the performance was in his honor.

Mark Nielsen’s ignorance to issues of concern and his disregard for the youth of our community is disturbing. A man so callous and selfish that he cannot cease campaigning after he was made aware of the tragedy that had occurred and the memorial status of the game does not deserve to serve in public office. Although a voter has a right to choose the candidate that is best qualified for the job, we hope that your choice is one that takes into account the moral character of the candidates and their attitudes towards people that they wish to represent. We need someone in Congress who is going to fight for what the people of the district want. We don’t need someone who isn’t enough of a person to respect the death of an amazing young man.

Sincerely,

Seth Guiterman,

Deirdre Dougherty,

Lauren Bass,

Brianna Limebrook,

Rachel Romanelli,

Lauren Adamek

Leah Blewett,

David Strong-

 Seniors, Newtown High School

5 Crabapple Lane, Sandy Hook                                   October 31, 2000