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Posted:
In This Issue
- Editorial Staff, Cartoonist Apologize for Comic
- Spec Buggers Queer Coverage
- Contraceptive Addiction: The Next Big Thing
- Letters to the Feditrix
- BOSS Leader on Racism
- Fed Editor on Racism
- Howard Dean Broke my Heart
- More on Columbia Security Department
- Lasers Make Atlanta Almost Cool
- Barnard Student Government Shows Resolution
- Jesus: Zombie Demigod Beloved By All
- Fundamentally Funny Bible Games
- Fed Fun Guide to Columbia Campus
BOSS Leader on Racism
First Amendment Needs to Go Way of Second Amendment
Marlysha Myrthil
As a member of the Columbia University community, I feel angered and entirely disappointed in my fellow students and their exploitation of the First Amendment to publish hurtful, racist, and sexist comments. The recent Fed publication was the most recent in, what I feel, has been an on-going campus problem. Although I strongly believe that proactive steps must be taken by the university with the aim of preventing something like the recent Fed cartoon from happening again, I also believe that we cannot miss sight here of the greater issue: the pervasiveness of racism on this campus.
I cannot expect the administration to put a complete end to racism and completely change the minds of individuals who feel propelled to use their creative potential to produce such offensive and racist material. But these recent events are evidence of the great need for increased campus dialogue, both in and outside of the classroom, on issues related to prejudice and discrimination in all of their forms. As an institution of higher education that prides itself not only on its "diversity," but also on its cultivation of some of the nation's "best and brightest" through its rigorous academic standards, Columbia should feel ashamed and embarrassed by these recent displays of discrimination and complete lack of sensitivity to its students of color. The ONLY way for students of color not to feel alone and "abandoned" is for the senior administration to not only recognize the existence of "unusually offensive" material, but also to recognize that as an institution of higher education, it must devote itself and its rigorous curriculum to discuss the many underlying political, economical, and sociological aspects of the issues of prejudice and discrimination.
Finally, I feel disturbed by the contention that there can be no redress to these publications because such action would violate the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression. I feel especially disturbed when these contentions take place within a societal climate where Janet Jackson's SuperBowl display is the subject of a federal investigation, when Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion, has been charged as "anti-Semitic" and inciting violence, when major broadcasting companies are now employing 5-10 second delays on select live broadcasting to censor "offensive" materials, and when many aspects of the media are censored in some way or another. This dichotomy, to me, is purely hypocritical.
Before February 21st, I had never labeled myself as an "activist," nor did I ever imagine myself participating in any kind of campus protestation. Yet, after witnessing no immediate reaction by the Columbia administration to The Fed, I felt propelled to react. Although I am a senior and probably won't see many of these initiatives realized, I am committed to this issue for my fellow students who aren't graduating this May and for all future students of Columbia, regardless of color.
In solidarity.
I cannot expect the administration to put a complete end to racism and completely change the minds of individuals who feel propelled to use their creative potential to produce such offensive and racist material. But these recent events are evidence of the great need for increased campus dialogue, both in and outside of the classroom, on issues related to prejudice and discrimination in all of their forms. As an institution of higher education that prides itself not only on its "diversity," but also on its cultivation of some of the nation's "best and brightest" through its rigorous academic standards, Columbia should feel ashamed and embarrassed by these recent displays of discrimination and complete lack of sensitivity to its students of color. The ONLY way for students of color not to feel alone and "abandoned" is for the senior administration to not only recognize the existence of "unusually offensive" material, but also to recognize that as an institution of higher education, it must devote itself and its rigorous curriculum to discuss the many underlying political, economical, and sociological aspects of the issues of prejudice and discrimination.
Finally, I feel disturbed by the contention that there can be no redress to these publications because such action would violate the First Amendment right to freedom of speech and expression. I feel especially disturbed when these contentions take place within a societal climate where Janet Jackson's SuperBowl display is the subject of a federal investigation, when Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion, has been charged as "anti-Semitic" and inciting violence, when major broadcasting companies are now employing 5-10 second delays on select live broadcasting to censor "offensive" materials, and when many aspects of the media are censored in some way or another. This dichotomy, to me, is purely hypocritical.
Before February 21st, I had never labeled myself as an "activist," nor did I ever imagine myself participating in any kind of campus protestation. Yet, after witnessing no immediate reaction by the Columbia administration to The Fed, I felt propelled to react. Although I am a senior and probably won't see many of these initiatives realized, I am committed to this issue for my fellow students who aren't graduating this May and for all future students of Columbia, regardless of color.
In solidarity.