<$BlogRSDUrl$>

12.09.2003

the long terrible week of finals 

Sporadic blogging this week.

Until things get back to normal, tide yourself over with a Harvard blog.

Nor'easter pummels Boston, reports the Daily Free Press.

Daily Collegian: "A Republican group at the University of Massachusetts has chosen not respond to the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court's decision on same-sex marriage, even as another campus group organizes students to support the ruling..."

And the gay marriage debate at Boston College. And on the fight over the lease and restrictions on The Heights, alums and others wrote in, mostly in protest of the administration's action.

One notably interesting letter:

For the second time in as many months, the student newspaper at a university in the Boston area is in jeopardy of losing its independence. As a member of the editorial board of the Justice, the independent student newspaper at Brandeis, I experienced first hand the madness of last month.

Following the printing of the now-infamous "Tigger remark," senior members of Brandeis Administration pressured our editor-in-chief to resign under the threat of halting production of the newspaper. Although he resigned for the survival of the Justice and we ultimately conceded to all demands, our editorial board felt our independence mocked and our paper denigrated.

Now it appears that the BC Administration is asking the Heights to adhere to new standards, many of which undermine the independence of your newspaper. There is an extensive list of reasons why each Administration demand should be refused. Content restrictions undercut journalistic freedom, a faculty advisory board inextricably ties the paper to the university and lowering ad rates limit revenue.

Editor-in-Chief Nancy Reardon and your editorial board are wise to persevere for journalistic independence in the face of university pressure. The Justice was damaged, but we ultimately remained independent. I urge you to continue in this unwarranted battle to uphold your independence and not allow administration intervention to become precedent at Bostonian colleges.

Benjamin Freed
Copy Editor, the Justice
Brandeis University '06
MIT's The Tech reports on their president stepping down. A search for a president for MIT will join searches for presidents for the Berklee College of Music, and Wheaton College, among others, including a president for UMass.

A scathing letter from a group of gay and lesbian alums denounces University President Lawrence H. Summers for refusing to challenge the government over campus military recruiting requirements and accuses him of seeming “uncaring” about the military’s discrimination against homosexuals, reports the Crimson.

Comments: Post a Comment

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?