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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

We, the executive staff of The Fed, would first like to reiterate our apology to the student body and our commitment to the fight against racism, bigotry, and ignorance in the Columbia community. Over the course of the past few weeks students across campus have voiced their concerns and justifiable anger over the publication of a cartoon in the most recent issue of The Fed. It has been a long and trying week and we must now ask ourselves, as a community, what our next step is going to be.

Many are demanding to know how such a hurtful comic strip made its way into our paper. The cartoon is clearly offensive; no one denies this. However, it was not our intent to further racist or bigoted ideals. Author Ben Schwartz intended the cartoon, part of the Wacky Fun Whitey series, as a satirical critique of racial stereotypes. Those familiar with the strip know that it has for several years been published in The Fed and The Spectator, the latter of which has not run it since the close of the previous school year. While typically used to criticize social absurdities and ignorance, this most recent edition of the cartoon failed to present its message in a clear and meaningful manner. It is here that we, the editorial board of The Fed, have failed to do our job and for this we apologize sincerely and wholeheartedly.

That the cartoon was poorly done satire does not excuse its publication in our newspaper. While an open forum for debate and a humor paper, we still have a certain obligation to ensure the quality of all works submitted. Additionally, we recognize that we are not required to print everything that we receive. For these reasons we have amended our editorial process to disallow the inclusion of regular "features," and to insure that all submissions receive the same editorial scrutiny. We recognize now that this is not an issue of censorship as the unfortunately flippant disclaimer attached to the cartoon suggested, but one of our obligation to print material of a certain quality. With this is mind we regret terribly our publication of a cartoon in which the message was so obviously lost.

We recognize now the need to engage in thoughtful and reasonable dialogue with the Columbia community. With the help of the administration and the student council, we are working to set up forums for discussion with offended groups and individuals. Details concerning these discussions will be made public as soon as we have received confirmations regarding room bookings. In the meantime, we have been encouraging our members and writers to attend speak-outs and meetings on the issue of racism on campus to better understand the concerns of the student body and to express their own thoughts on the issue. Likewise, we invite anyone to attend our meetings or submit material for publication. We are willing to take whatever steps are necessary to help make amends with those we have alienated through our thoughtlessness. To this end, we need your help: we welcome and encourage your suggestions, feedback, and input on this or any other matter of concern or interest to the student body.

An editorial in the Spectator suggested that "the protesters won and the The Fed lost." This implies that The Fed and the protesters have mutually exclusive goals and are engaging in a battle with one side promoting racism and the other attacking it. To the contrary, we do not support racism and the individual members of The Fed are not racists. On this issue our goals on this issue are one and the same: to promote meaningful discussion and address an issue that is of serious concern on the Columbia campus.

From Ben Schwartz:

I would like to apologize for the "Wacky Fun Whitey" cartoon which appeared in the last issue of The Fed. I accept full responsibility for the lack of context and clarity which turned a strip inteded to mock racists into an instrument of racial insensitivity, iteself. It was my belief that the absurdity of the views expressed in the cartoon would be self-evident and that no explicit counter-point would be necessary. This is not an excuse for my actions; I was wrong. I sincerely regret my insensitivity.