Mac Members:
If anyone is interested in Diana's and Meta's idea of submitting a proposal on this topic
(sorry I am working on another one myself and can´t take on this one), I could serve as speaker
on the issue. At my former institution in Minnesota, we had a situation with student editors
using the principles of truth and objectivity to justify covering American Indian mascots when
Chicano and Native American students demanded the resignation of the student editor.
Ilia Rodriguez
Assistant Professor
The University of New Mexico
[log in to unmask]
--On Monday, September 24, 2007 1:18 PM -0400 "Rios, Diana" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> Absolutely. This is a great topic for someone to take off with and
> create a panel proposal. This could be a Teaching Panel for some
> interested people.
> Here are some possible titles--
> "Campus News, Radio, TV: Freedom of Expression or Racism-Misgynism?"
> "Campus News, Radio, TV: If we hate you, we have the right to say it"
> "The Future of Student Media: The Dark and Enlightened Sides of Freedom of Expression"
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Meta G. Carstarphen [mailto:[log in to unmask]]
> Sent: Mon 9/24/2007 12:55 PM
> To: Rios, Diana
> Cc: [log in to unmask]
> Subject: Re: Campus newspaper--racism, misogynism
>
> Thanks, Diana.
>
> Maybe the topic of campus newspapers (and radio & TV) should be a
> topic for a panel proposal.
>
> Meta
> Meta G. Carstarphen, Ph.D., APR
> Gaylord Family Endowed Professor &
> Associate Professor
> Gaylord College of Journalism and Mass Communication
> University of Oklahoma
> 395 W. Lindsey Room 3510C
> Norman, OK 73019-4201
> PHONE: (405) 325-5227
> FAX: (405) 325-7565
> E-MAIL: [log in to unmask]
> ************************************
>
>
>
> On Sep 23, 2007, at 10:29 AM, Rios, Diana wrote:
>
>> We should be aware of the lack of ethics, lack of common sense, the
>> racism
>> and misogynism at this campus newspaper at Central Connecticut
>> State University.
>> This makes us ask the question, How are our campus newspapers doing?
>> Sincerely,
>> Dr. Diana I. Rios
>> Associate Prof. of Communication Sciences and Institute for PRLS
>> Dept. Communication Sciences, U-1085
>> University of Connecticut
>> Storrs, CT 06269
>> 860-486-3187
>> [log in to unmask]
>>
>>
>> ----------------------------------------------
>>
>> PLEASE SEND LETTERS. IT'S VERY IMPORTANT
>> courant.com/news/opinion/columnists/hc-
>> reyna0921.artsep21,0,7243759.column
>> Courant.com
>> Tolerating A Climate Of Hostility
>> Bessy Reyna
>> September 21, 2007
>> Publication of a racist and misogynistic cartoon depicting a 14-
>> year-old Latina, hungry, bound, locked in a closet and apparently
>> being urinated upon casts a pall across the celebration of Hispanic
>> History Month in Connecticut.
>>
>> Printed by the Central Connecticut State University student paper,
>> The Recorder, the cartoon has caused an understandable uproar on
>> campus and off. Is CCSU teaching its students to be tolerant of
>> those who make fun of victims or humiliate and belittle others
>> because of their ethnicity or gender? I wonder. This is the same
>> paper - under Editor in Chief Mark Rowan - that caused an outrage
>> on campus last winter with the publication of a piece suggesting
>> that a rape could be a "magical experience" for an ugly woman.
>>
>> At that time, the CCSU administration's response was to create a
>> Task Force on Journalistic Integrity and "sensitize" Rowan by
>> having him join. Obviously, that effort has failed. Rowan and his
>> staff published this cartoon, which is not only intrinsically
>> hateful toward Latinos and women, but also features the commission
>> of crimes including risk of injury to a minor, assault and unlawful
>> restraint. I'm sure they thought that their addition of a
>> disclaimer beneath the cartoon - "The Recorder does not support the
>> kidnapping of (and subsequent urinating on) children of any age or
>> ethnicity" - was a clever and funny jab at the task force.
>>
>> One highly disturbing element is how little the students at the
>> newspaper seem to care about the fact that hate crimes against
>> women and minorities are an extremely serious social issue. One
>> that we need to deal with as a society, not make fun of.
>>
>> I couldn't help but think about Megan Williams, the 20-year-old
>> African American woman, who recently was found after being locked
>> up and brutally tortured by six people in West Virginia, or the 14-
>> year-old runaway from Bloomfield who was found a year later locked
>> in a small closet in a West Hartford house.
>>
>> The publication of this cartoon seems to be a symptom of a much
>> bigger problem at CCSU. The response by university President Jack
>> Miller leaves much to be desired. He wrote that the cartoon
>> "demonstrates [the students'] lack of understanding of how words
>> can hurt and of how their editorial decisions to publish deeply
>> offensive materials can undermine the civility that should bring us
>> together as a campus community." Miller sounds like a disappointed
>> father, not the leader a college president should be. He is only
>> now, in the face of more controversy, recommending implementation
>> of some of the proposals that were presented last May by the task
>> force on journalism.
>>
>> In a letter to the CCSU community, Professor Serafín Méndez-Méndez,
>> chairman of the communication department and a member of the task
>> force, said that Miller has exhibited poor leadership by failing to
>> create an inclusive and tolerant environment for women, African
>> Americans, Latinos, gays and others.
>>
>> Psychology Professor Francisco Donis, president of the Latin
>> American Association at CCSU, told me the problem is a climate that
>> fosters such obnoxious behavior. Underrepresented groups on campus
>> feel threatened and unwelcome. He noted that "CCSU is the only CSU
>> [Connecticut State University{rcub} campus without Latino
>> representation in the administration or at the dean level."
>>
>> Miller should consider that the lack of Latino administrators and
>> deans in his administration demonstrates his lack of understanding
>> of how invisibility can hurt and of how hiring decisions can
>> undermine the civility that should bring a campus community together.
>>
>> This year, Connecticut citizens observing Hispanic History Month
>> should celebrate the Latino students at CCSU and their counterparts
>> throughout the country for having the strength and fortitude to
>> continue to strive for an education in the face of such hostility
>> and harassment.
>>
>> Bessy Reyna is a free-lance writer whose column appears the third
>> Friday of every month. To leave her a comment in English or
>> Spanish, please call 860-241-3165. Or e-mail her at
>> [log in to unmask]
>> Copyright © 2007, The Hartford Courant
>>
>>
>> Bessy Reyna
>> www.bessyreyna.com
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