11.02.2003
Brandeis Justice source: Support growing for paper
[university seal, President Jehuda Reinharz]
Campus community support for the Brandeis Justice newspaper is steadily gaining ground, as is a possible backlash against the Brandeis Black Student Organization (BBSO), reports the newsroom source.
While the frenzied pace from last week's events might have slowed down, the media coverage has and will not, apparently. Besides the recent segment on WB56, the Globe has contacted the newspaper again, according to the source, as has the Chronicle for Higher Education, and several other news organizations.
What has happened since last we wrote, the source says, is that the editor-in-chief who resigned, Stephen Heyman, met with Brandeis President Jehuda Reinharz on Thursday. Reinharz did a "complete 180" on what Senior Vice President Jean Eddy said, saying that he wouldn't have done anything if Heyman hadn't resigned. This lead Heyman to write in his resignation letter about how "the duplicity of certain members of the administration led to my resignation on false pretenses."
After that, a few of the editors, not the entire board, got together to discuss the situation, ultimately deciding that it wasn't wise for Heyman go back on his word to the BBSO, "even if the administration can't keep their story straight," says the source, adding later that "[t]he administration has not had an official reaction to us (or unofficial for that matter)."
The campus has been mostly supportive, and many are "really upset at the admin for trying to regulate the press on campus and now most people think BBSO was out of line in their protests." From just the op-ed that was in Friday's edition, people are expressing disbelief that the paper was made to wait three days for that, and are taking issue with the passage, "They also know that if they fail to protect us, we will turn this university upside down."
I asked, "The 3300 word article mentions several other instances of Passner writing inflammatory remarks in his column. Did those get missed the same way as this Tigger one did?"
The source responded: "In the past, Passner's articles have always been edited and the previous EIC would at times cut inflammatory material from them. To answer your question, they were not missed, just editorial judgments to leave them in because in context they made points (even if they weren't necessarily agreeable to the community)."
"...Passner's previous material was never this bad," says the source, adding that censoring the previous material would have been ignorant. "I think editing his [Dusty Baker] article to make sure everything was in context and appropriate should have been done by the sports editor which he didn't."
The source also points us to a Brandeis e-mail archive that's had a couple of things on the situation.
The source also commented on BBSO complaints that ICC (Intercultural Center) events don't get covered by The Justice, and that they're not represented on staff.
"This shows their ignorance and the fact that they don't read the Justice," the source wrote, saying that he went back through 26 issues and ICC events came second, with the top stories being things like union finances, parking and shuttle problems. The ICC coverage tops coverage of Jewish events by a large margin. "In the first 8 issues this semester, there have been not more than 5 total articles (in news) dealing with Jewish issues. There have been at least 15 with ICC events."
Regarding the lack of representation on the editorial board and staff, the source points out that "there are NO requirements to being on staff besides showing up and writing."
On the newsroom end of things, the last week and a half has been "numbing" for staffers. "Most editors are way behind on their school work," the source writes. "Luckily we have understanding professors who have allowed us some extra time to do our work and catch up on sleep. Many people have lost sight that the editorial board is composed of people and is not this vague entity. These people are an emotional wreck right now."
The source also praises Dawn Miller and Jacob Olidort on their (shades of the NYTIMES on Jayson Blair, as Steven Silver put it) article, as well as Elyse Seener's article on the early morning protest. "They really rose to the occasion of spending countless hours, taking a lot of crap from everyone involved, and doing a great job of trying to stay unbiased despite pressures from all over."
The source also wanted to reiterate what was written in the previous e-mail: "One person's racism is not symbolic of the whole community's thought. By saying that this type of racism is prevalent at Brandeis b/c one person holds views is irrational (and stupid).
"It is important that people realize that by shouting down anyone's misconceptions they are not furthering that person understanding but rather reiterating that these misconceptions are accurate. Its funny that both ultra liberals and ultra conservatives have so much in common. Both don't let people speak with whom they disagree, one in the name of patriotism, the other in the name of not hurting anyone's feelings."
MORE: Jawsblog's Josh shares some thoughts on the issue and race.
EDIT: Josh e-mails to say that the thing I called a "Brandeis online forum" is, in fact, the archives of e-mail list: "You mention an 'online forum'--it's actually the archives of an email list (listserve) and the one that you linked to belongs to the 'Radical Student Alliance'. There are a few other lists that have been arguing about this too." Noted and fixed.
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