TO THE EDITOR:
I write in regard to the September 15 article in The Chapel Hill News reporting about the "Girls of the ACC" feature in Playboy magazine.
I sincerely regret that my professional affiliation with UNC was mentioned in the article, and I apologize to all members of the local community and the University who found this news offensive.
I learned a hard lesson this week about speaking to the press with more exuberance than was necessary. I also regret that I was not more sensitive overall to the possible negative consequences of this event.
Until that article was published, I had received only positive commentary about it. In no way was I acting in any official capacity during my limited involvement with the magazine, and it was a mistake for me to provide information to the press that made things appear differently.
Because the article did not mention the fact that I was not present during any of the nude photography sessions, it gave the impression that I had engaged directly in lewd conduct with students.
That is not correct, and The Chapel Hill News has apologized to me for this error of omission - they had the correct information at press time and decided not to include it in their article.
It is especially regrettable that this error was propagated by the local National Public Radio affiliate into a excessively sensational piece that aired last week.
Clearly, there are people in the community who dislike Playboy magazine and its contents. That fact, coupled with my lack of sensitivity at the signing event and the incomplete reporting of the facts, have created a lot of bad publicity for UNC and for me personally.
