The Observer, April 4, 2008
Volume XL, Issue 23
Editorial: Newspaper is forum for university
Reading over this week's letters to the editor, one can see that Caleb Posner's last column, "Anti-Semitism strong at Case," spurred a huge reaction. We received 13 letters in total, seven of which were from the CWRU community. The six letters from outside readers could not be printed due to space constrictions.
Tulsi Roy's last column, "Roman Catholic Church should follow own advice before damning others," received a similar, though smaller, reaction. We've put in hours of extra work two weeks in a row, editing and laying out letters, to ensure that all voices on campus are heard, if they wish to be.
No complaints here – we want The Observer to be a forum for discussion. We support freedom of expression for all. That said, we want to make it very clear that the opinions of our editorial/opinion columnists do not reflect the opinions of The Observer or its staff.
A few years ago, The Observer ran an advertisement for a lecture on the Holocaust that was later revealed to be promoting the idea that the Holocaust never occurred. When it was brought to the attention of the then-Editor-in-Chief, Laura Castro, she immediately issued an apology on behalf of The Observer. The apology subsequently caused a negative reaction: it isn't the newspaper's fault, people said.
We aren't going to apologize for publishing Posner's opinion; that's his responsibility, if he feels it is necessary. Though it's understandable that people take offense at a statement referring to speakers as "the most vile, intellectually corrupt, and dishonest brokers of hate," to us it's clearly an opinion. That's why we're taught in SAGES to critically evaluate the validity of a writer's argument, and why we are confident that readers can scrutinize an opinion piece, whether they agree with it or not.
However, as a publication, it is our responsibility to correct factual errors that appeared in Posner's column. First, Alice Bach is in fact not the faculty sponsor of Students for Justice in Palestine. Furthermore, Posner has never taken Bach's course on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, and consequently had no firsthand experience to report. The Observer regrets these errors.
An unbiased reporter will investigate Posner's claim that anti-Semitism is a problem at Case. It is fact that an anti-Semitic message appeared on the Thwing wall last semester, and the question demands additional attention to determine if there really is a serious issue at hand.
Everyone on this campus has the right to his or her own beliefs. The opinion section of The Observer serves as a space where every person, regardless of stance, can express his or her views. A strong opinion will elicit a strong reaction, as evidenced by this week's deluge of letters. But dialogue is one of the most important things that a university environment can foster. We encourage those on both sides of the argument, as many letters we received suggested, to sit down and discuss the issue with one another. Recognizing each other as human beings can only lead to one thing: progress.
