2_________
WedNEsdAy, FebRUARy 2, 2000
Opinion
Th E ClACkAMAS P rìnt
Campus should be safe, not sheltered
As a person who has taken three
history classes
from Dr. Epstein,
the news of a complaint agajnsthim
didn’t come as a shock to me. ^To
say the least, he is controvqfcral and
outspoken, and .1 could see how
someone might get offended by
The way it
something he said.
What really shocked and upset
me was the fact that once the stoiy
broke about the alleged comment,
letters streamed in accusing Dr.
Epstein of being a horrible person
and singling him out as narrow
minded homophobe.
News flash, people: we don’t live
in a candy-coated world where ev
eryone has the same opinion on ev
erything. Now, I don’t agrée with
Dr. Epstein on the topic of homo
sexuality, but I do believe that the
man has a right to say what he be
lieves, even though it isn’t the po
litically correct view. What a sad
and mind-numbing world it would
be to walk around agreeing with ev
erybody. This is supposed to be a
college for grown-ups, who have al
ready formed their own opinions on
important topics.
•' Epstein did-what so many in
structors on this campus fail to
do: inspiré thought :
Many say that Dr. Epstein
would make any homosexual per
son feel uncomfortable in his
classroom. Last Wednesday
night, a very brave young man
stood up at the candlelight vigil
and spoke in
defense of Dr.
Epstein. The
man, a former
Clackamas
student, re
vealed that
Angie Daschel he was a
A & E Editor cross-
dresser -who
had taken four of Epstein’s
classes. Voice trembling, the man
told how Epstein had invited him,
as well as other students, to his
home many times to discuss
class topics and had made him
feel welcome. Never did he say
that Dr. Epstein was malicious or
prejudiced towards him.
He did say, however, that the
college is losing a great instruc
tor, with which I wholeheartedly
agree with. Epstein taught with
great fervor and enthusiasm, and
when I read that he had lost his
passion for teaching, it broke my
heart. The man who organized
colloquiums and brought in Ho
locaust survivors to speak to the
campus vanished simply be
cause someone got upset over
an alleged comment.
Thirty years of his teaching at this
community college are wiped away
by a complaint, and that not only
angers me, but it got me thinking as
The views portrayed in this cartoon are not those of Linda Vogt, advisor of The Clackamas Print
newspaper, or of the Print staff as a whole.
well. If one person can be brought
down because they spoke their opin
ion, then watch out. You never know
who has it out for you, and maybe
something you allegedly say will get
you in trouble, whether you said it
or not.
Although this whole thing makes'
me angry and disappointed in this
community, it mostly makes me sad.
I ani sad for the students who will
never get to take Dr. Epstein’s
classes on Oregon history, Judaic
histoiy or Western Civilization. Iam
sad for the students who don’t feel
safe on our campus because of cer
tain ideas of morality.
I am sad for the people who
felt they had to condemn Dr.
Epstein for his views. But mostly
I am sad for Dr. Epstein. Not be
cause he is retiring, but because
he contributed so much to the
campus over the last thirty years
and the only thing he will be re
membered for is ^alleged com
ment.
Epstein controversy not taken lightly
s the Opinion Editor of the
At this time, we had a meeting to
Clackamas Print, I not
discuss the validity of the accusa
only value your opin tions. That same day, I then went to
ions. .. I welcome them and I think
talk to Dr. Epstein with my tape re
you should know the creative pro corder, pen, and notebook in hand
pels Ithe staffwent;through in; or- to get his side of the story. Other
* der to present. the issues on 'the members of the staff interviewed
Joshua
Alexander.
We
went
through the
interviews
and sorted
through the
Sulena De La Cruz
information.
Opinion Editor
Some may
say
Epstein matter.
Epstein’s comment was in the con
When The Print first got word text of the course. I can agree with
on Epstein’s comment we weren’t that to some extent, but what our
quite sure what to do with it; we readers don’t know is that there was
didn’t know if it was hearsay or not. much more information. It was not
We held the news for a week to released to you because it did not
gather more information and we ran have to do with his comment, “You
my opinion. It was something to are better off dead than being a ho
raise questions in the minds of the mosexual.” I’m not going to say what
student body and faculty about the Statements were because we
chose not to publish them. I will
academic freedom.
A
Make a
statement,
be heard».»
say they were very opinionated and
would probably offend some
people. This brings us to the real
issue: Academic freedom or preju
diced opinion?
Some excerpts from the interviews
were run in the Jan. 19 edition. This
brought new issues to light. The
conflict was no longer about
Epstein’s comment, it was about
whether he should be allowed to
say these things if it hinders stu
dents’ success because they no
longer feel comfortable in the class.
The Print Editors asked that ques
tion and many more while review
ing the most appropriate way to run
the stories.
We knew this was a sensitive sub
ject and needed to be handled with
the utmost care. While I cannot
speak for everyone on the Print
staff, I would like to say one thing: I
feel we reported the story to the best
of our ability with the information
we had. I would also like to ask
students in the Judaic Studies class
who viewed the situation differently,
Editor-in-Chief:
to let us know your thoughts on
the incident.
During the Jan. 19 issue, we
asked readers to decide—Aca
demic freedom or prejudiced
opinion? And decide you did.
We received nine letters, which
we printed in the Jan. 26 issue.
There are more letters here
with contrasting views, some
from our own staff. We are indi
viduals; we have our own opin
ions. I would like to reiterate that
the views in the Opinion Section
are not those of the Print staff
as a whole.
When the finished product
comes out, think about the fact
that we are all in a learning envi
ronment. It takes a lot for it to
look like that and for the stories
to be decided.
You may be learning E=Mc2 in
Physics, but we are learning how
to report the news.
Questions, comments, or con
cerns call ext. 2309 or e-mail me
at salenadelcruz@netscape.net.
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