Spring Break
LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Gravity fallout must be covered
Letters to the Editor | 9/11/07
Posted online at 8:30 PM EST on 9/10/07
/ Last updated at 12:31 AM EST on 9/10/07
To the Editor:
The ombudsman makes a critical point in urging the Justice to aggressively and comprehensively report the continued fallout-or lack thereof-over last semester's regrettable debacle at Gravity magazine. And it's a point that should be heeded not just by editors and writers at the newspaper, but by students, faculty and administrators alike.
There is perhaps no issue more pressing to the University's social fabric than the state of race relations on campus. Prof. Maura Farrelly (AMST) is correct in writing that "the problem of myopia revealed by the so-called 'Gravity incident' cannot be fixed simply with a new set of editorial policies" ("Continuity errors, omissions and sloppy copy editing," Sept. 4 issue). Indeed, the issue is a far larger one of how students from strikingly different backgrounds interact in the campus community. Any response must take that into account.
Brandeis missed a huge opportunity in the fall of 2003, when the Justice elicited uproar of a similar, racially charged nature. But what's really chilling is how the entire community's response to Gravity this spring mirrored the response to what was published in the Justice that fateful fall. That response, punitive in nature and stifling of truly constructive dialogue, did little but obscure the issues from sight and mind.
It's not too late to take advantage of this latest opportunity.
-Dan Hirschhorn
Philadelphia, Pa.
The writer is a member of the Class of 2007 and a former editor in chief of the Justice.
The ombudsman makes a critical point in urging the Justice to aggressively and comprehensively report the continued fallout-or lack thereof-over last semester's regrettable debacle at Gravity magazine. And it's a point that should be heeded not just by editors and writers at the newspaper, but by students, faculty and administrators alike.
There is perhaps no issue more pressing to the University's social fabric than the state of race relations on campus. Prof. Maura Farrelly (AMST) is correct in writing that "the problem of myopia revealed by the so-called 'Gravity incident' cannot be fixed simply with a new set of editorial policies" ("Continuity errors, omissions and sloppy copy editing," Sept. 4 issue). Indeed, the issue is a far larger one of how students from strikingly different backgrounds interact in the campus community. Any response must take that into account.
Brandeis missed a huge opportunity in the fall of 2003, when the Justice elicited uproar of a similar, racially charged nature. But what's really chilling is how the entire community's response to Gravity this spring mirrored the response to what was published in the Justice that fateful fall. That response, punitive in nature and stifling of truly constructive dialogue, did little but obscure the issues from sight and mind.
It's not too late to take advantage of this latest opportunity.
-Dan Hirschhorn
Philadelphia, Pa.
The writer is a member of the Class of 2007 and a former editor in chief of the Justice.
Viewing Comments 1 - 1 of 1
sigh...
posted 9/11/07 @ 2:48 PM EST
Well said, Dan. But it's easier said than done. Racial tension extends far beyond Brandeis. Any response should, at least subconsciously, take that into account too. (Continued…)
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