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Thursday, April 22, 2004
Oregon Daily Emerald
COMMENTARY
Editor in Chief:
Brad Schmidt
Managing Editor:
Jan Tobias Montry
Editorial Editor:
Travis Willse
EIOITORJAL.
New Senate
decisions
contradict
each other
Last week, the University Senate made renewed efforts to
change how administrators will cooperate with government
agencies that are seeking student records and was updated on
the process of expanding disciplinary procedures for students.
These two issues, while unrelated, carry with them con
sequences and benefits that must be recognized.
In its first order of business, the Senate dedared that re
quests for private student records must be deared through the
University General Counsd's Office before they are released.
"While privacy issues are governed by both state and fed
eral law, the University's interest in privacy goes far beyond
its commitment to comply with law," the Senate's policy
statement dedared. "... Students, faculty and staff should
be aware that the University supports their freedom to in
quire, discuss and experiment with ideas without fear of im
proper government intrusion or public exposure."
While bound to have little material impact in the long
run — after all, the federal government could fight the ef
forts, most likely very successfully — the University admin
istration's efforts symbolize faculty disapproval of Attorney
General John Ashcroft's secretive and covert attacks on dvil
liberties. Further, the action shows that the Senate is looking
out for the interests of University students before the ques
tionable tactics of outside agendes.
In another action that could more drastically change the
way students behave off-campus, the Senate heard an up
date from the Student Conduct Committee that widened
the scope of criminal behaviors that the University can
punish. Currently, only students who commit sexually mo
tivated crimes off-campus can be disdplined with the Stu
dent Conduct Code; the proposed changes would add
"any act of physical violence or threat of violence against
another student that causes a reasonable person fear of
physical harm" to that list.
The justification?
No law prohibits it, according to Director of Student Ju
didal Affairs Chris Loschiavo. And while the conduct code
process is meant for educational purposes and won't take
the place of criminal prosecution, Loschiavo pointed out,
we question the need for double punishment.
One wonders, too, whether the University has a legitimate
claim on punishing crimes that didn't happen on its proper
ty, and that only happens to involve people affiliated with
it. For a body that stressed student privacy in the same meet
ing, there's at least some hypocrisy in standing by while the
Student Conduct Committee expands the University's abili
ty to meddle in events that happen off-campus.
That being said, if the new rule can curtail harassment
and assault, then the outcome may outweigh the unintend
ed consequences.
EDITORIAL POLICY
This editorial represents the opinion of the Emerald
editorial board. Responses can be sent to letters
@dailyemerald.com. Letters to the editor and guest
commentaries are encouraged. Letters are limited
to 250 words and guest commentaries to 550 words.
Authors are limited to one submission per calendar
month. Submission must include phone number and
address for verification. The Emerald reserves the right
to edit for space, grammar and style.
EDITORIAL BOARD
Jan Tobias Montry
Managing Editor
Ayisha Yahya
News Editor
Travis Willse
Editorial Editor
Jennifer Sudick
Freelance Editor
A message from a black male
to the white community
I like to think of myself as a fairly con
troversial student columnist, so I feel
compelled to voice my outrage at the ac
tions of the Daily Barometer, Oregon
State University's campus newspaper.
Writer David Williams was fired after
penning an April 9 column titled "A mes
sage from a white male to the African
American community" (I encourage you
all to read it at http://barometer.orst.edu).
Williams writes, after several qualifying
paragraphs, "There is a lack of morality in
the black community because African
American leaders ... choose to rally
around minorities who seem to have little
quality characteristics about them."
In an editorial on April 13, the Barome
ter described the column as "racially insen
sitive and inappropriate" and apologized
to the black community "who was no
doubt disappointed, hurt and outraged."
As a black man, I was far more disap
pointed in the editors of the Barometer
who fired their columnist for writing a
column that his editors signed off on for
publication. To scapegoat the writer in
the face of controversy is pure cowardice.
It is absolutely shameful.
Let me be clear: The Barometer had
many legitimate reasons to fire David
Williams. For one, he is a terrible writer.
To borrow a line from Grandpa on
"Everybody Loves Raymond," 1 could
have eaten the alphabet and crapped a
better article.
That brings us to the second reason
Williams should have been fired: He is a
plagiarist. I just quoted a line from a tele
vision show, but I didn't pretend I in
vented the line. Williams, on the other
hand, decided to take paragraphs from
syndicated columnist Leonard Pitts,
change some words using his thesaurus
and then pass them off as his own.
Here is one example (the first is from
Pitts and the second from Williams):
"We — blacks — ought to be more
thoughtful about who we choose to rally
around, ought to be less automatic in
leaping to the defense. ... (W)e need to
grow beyond the notion that someone
deserves our support because he is black
and in trouble."
David Jagernauth
Critical mass
"1 think blacks should be more careful
in deciding whom they choose to sup
port. They need to grow beyond the au
tomatic reaction of defending someone
because he or she shares the same skin
color and is in a dilemma."
Unfortunately the Barometer didn't
fire Williams because he was an untal
ented plagiarist. They fired him because,
as they put it, "we have a policy never to
print material that is discriminatory,
racist or sexist."
Asking a "white male," as Williams
self-identifies, to avoid racially insensi
tive remarks is the equivalent of telling
him to stop writing about his true feel
ings about race. Racial insensitivity — or
let's call it what it is, racial innocence —
is so ingrained in white America that it is
practically instinctual.
Oops. Did I just say something racially
insensitive?
The conservative rhetoric about out-of
control political correctness is dead on
(unfortunately conservatives are the worst
perpetrators of PC ideology). It is danger
ous to use the word racism as a muzzle for
any columnist talking about race in a con
troversial way. Why are we afraid of con
fronting ignorance in print? The stupidity
of Williams' column speaks for itself— it
is a perfect illustration of the stupidity that
the black community has to put up with
from white America.
Williams isn't a racist. He is a young
white male attempting to talk about some
thing that he doesn't have the maturity to
understand. Should he be punished for
the attempt? I certainly don't think so.
David Williams gave his message to
the black community. Well, here is my
message to David Williams: Don't tell
the black community what it needs to
do. Maybe think more deeply about
what the white community needs to do.
My message to the Barometer: Apolo
gize to Williams, reinstate him and then
immediately fire him again for being a pla
giarist and a disgrace to student journalists
everywhere. Then maybe a few editors
should resign. You, too, are a disgrace.
And my message to the black commu
nity: Williams has a point. We should be
"more careful in deciding whom (we)
choose to support." Not blacks but
whites. We should be more careful in de
ciding which whites we choose to sup
port. Colin Powell, rethink your support
of President Bush. Janet Jackson, rethink
your support of Justin Timberlake. And
black Democrats, rethink your support
of John Kerry.
Contact the columnist
at davidjagemauth@dailyemerald.com.
His opinions do not necessarily
represent those of the Emerald.