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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (March 1, 1989)
[ Several privately funded con servative college newspapers have been launched in the past year. Some are at odds with administra tors and others on campus over their editorial content. U. Focus takes a look at their disputes. Dartmouth Review gains attention on ‘60 Minutes’ By Rosamond Hong • The Dartmouth Dartmouth Collage, NH The nasty character of infight ing between the staff of The Dart■ mouth Review and Dartmouth College administrators hit prime time last semester when *60 Mi nutes” aired a segment titled “Dartmouth vs. Dartmouth.” de tailing the controversy behind the Review’s suit against the college. Calling the Review a “thorn in (the College's) side," Morley Safer interviewed former Review editor Christopher Baldwin and Dart mouth President James Freedman. The 15-minute segment pre sented what college spokesman Alex Huppe termed a ‘fair and objective treatment of what's going on here at Dartmouth.* The Review is taking the college to court ‘over the right to bash anyone they like, or more accur ately. anyone they don’t like,* Saf er said. The segment focused on the suspension of Review staff mem bers after harassing a black music professor on campus. The Review is suing the college because it feels the administration has violated its right to free speech. Professor Jeffrey Hart was also interviewed in the segment. “The charge of racism against the Dartmouth Review is a slimeball attempt at intimidation that is absolutely reprehensible.* Hart said. “These students were not punished because of what they wrote,* Freedman said in the tele cast. “Freedom of speech is essen tial at Dartmouth. It has pro tected the Review for the past eight years and will continue to do so.’ When questioned about the Re view’* attack on Professor Wil liam Cole and his method of teaching, Baldwin answered, “We are witnesses to higher education. When something smells bad, you know it stinks.* Harmeet Dhillon, current edi tor in chief of the Review, said she feels the segment sided with the college “to a certain extent.* The segment “revealed a lot ab out the Reviews arrogance and deception,* Huppe said. A Walk on the Right Side Conservative papers rouse controversy By Debbie Abrams ■ The Daily Pennsylvanian U. of Pennsylvania Journalists have long claimed the role of watchdog over their govern ments — on a national level, in indi vidual cities and on college campuses But recently, role reversal has In come more commonplace, with adminis trators and student governments at several schools doselv monitoring and sometimes interfering with the operations of campus publications whose political leanings are to the right side of the political spectrum Although editors of the papers have not proved outright censorship, they have charged that students, faculty and administrators attempt to hinder the newspapers — through means ranging from the suspension of editors to the revocation of funding — because the veiwpointa they espouse run counter to the mainstream of society. Harmeet Dhillon, editor in chief of the controversial Dartmouth Rcvirw, said the paper, founded in 1980 as the “Th«* growing conaervative force threatens the liberal establishment. Freedom of speech (on the liberal side) is very strong, but on the other is non-existent.” — HARMEET DHILLON first conservative college paper in the last 50 years, serves as a model lor con- j servative papers across the country. ! Since the paper’s founding, more than j 100 right-wing papers have sprung up on college campuses Earlier this fall, a conservative news pa per at Colby College in Maine created a stir on campus when it published an unsigned column which contained material that many at the college found offensive to women and homosexuals The school’s Student Association, which funds the paper, threatened to withdraw support unless the Colby Cross-fire printed an apology for the statements The newspaper's editor-in chief, Gregory Lundberg refused, saving the forced retraction would con stitute censorship. And the association revoked the $700 it planned to allocate to the paper Lundberg said much of what appeared in the paper was harmless. “One one-thousandth of the text was what people were offended by," Lund berg said, claiming that mast of the arti cles which appeared in the publication’s fall issue concentrated on the presiden tial election and other national issues He called the fund withdrawal “unbri dled hypocrisy." School funding is often a key revenue source for college papers Many of the papers started in recent years do not have enough money to publish reg ularly. The Dartmouth Review, the nation's most famous — and infamous con servative college publication is a $150,000 corporation. Dhillon said She asserted that the only reason the pub lication has survived in the face of the administration’s actions is that they rely solely on outside funds, such as alumni donations and subscriptions “The reason why we continue to be vocal is because we are independent, she said. But most other conservative papers do not have extensive outside support Publications like Colby’s Crossfire, Princeton’s Sentinel and U of Pennsyl vania's The Red and Blue are smaller newspapers that have at one time re ceived or applied for student funds But none of the papers are currently being financed by their universities. “A lot of conservative papers are going to private funding advertising and donations," said Joe Weinlick, edi tor of The Red and Blue, which was de nied funding earlier last semester “There are some pretty uptight peo ple here," said Colby’s Lundberg " 1 think (the incident I was blown out of proportion." The same complaint has been lodged against the Dartmouth College admi nistration only three editors at the Review, who were suspended last year have filed a lawsuit against the college For the past year, the Review has dis rupted relations on the New Hampshire campus — first with a confrontation be tween the paper’s editors and a black professor and most recently for printing an editorial that has been denounced as anti-Semitic. Last March, three editors were sus pended due to a confrontation with Dartmouth Music Professor William Cole over an article the paper ran criti cizing Cole’s teaching abilities. More recently the Review drew charges of anti-Semitism from the cam pus community over an article which likened Dartmouth President James Freedman to Adolf Hitler. “The growing conservative force threatens the liberal establishment. Dhilion said "The Dartmouth Revwu has never had more to write about that it does now Freedom of speech (on the liberal side) is very strong, but on the other is non-existent.” Sentinel editor David Miller also said his paper often upsets the campus com munity because it runs counter to cam pus mainstream opinions “The more successful we put across our opinions, the more angry they get. Miller said. Papers Under Attack Going against the grain ... Recently the Wssar Spectator was closed down by the Vassal Student Association tot punting the "Hypocrite ol the Month ' amid The papet gave the ptue to Anthony Grate, a Mac* Vassal student who made anti Semitic remarks to a Jewish student at a recep non hosted by the Spectatev after having earlier complained ol racism on campus The Spectator reported that alter the Jewish student argued that his arrcestois had also been staves. Gtale said. "So what. I hate Jews" According to Vassal College Press Secretary Dicksie Sheraton the student gov entrant. not me administration. was responsible lor closing the Spectator one ol eight student papers At the U ol Iowa, mote than 300 students and laculty members signed an ad in the school's daily news paper criticinng the conservative Campus Revie* lot encouraging attacks against homosexuals One con servalive paper. Campus Report, is distributed nationally to more than 300 campuses The paper published by Accuracy in Academia, attempts to counter other points ot view." Campus Report f ieid Director Kip Karady said Say a prolessor is leaching an economics course from a Marxist point ot view then we expose that." he said • Jarrt SeiberR, The Eagle, American U , IX’
