From the Editor: An open community forum

In a community of a few thousand, the line between responsibility to community members and allegiance to journalistic ideals can get fuzzy. That level of intimacy frequently makes reporting difficult for the Justice or any other college newspaper. Unavoidably, some issues affect us; The Debate Society's now shelved crusade to join the Secured Allocations Fund (SAF) groups is just one example. On one hand, the Justice had to report it because it was big news; on the other hand, the Justice is itself an SAF group and maintains a close working relationship with the other SAF groups, and therefore objectivity is all the more difficult to obtain.In covering the controversy that has unfolded in response to Yana Litovsky's '05 column, "Political Incorrectness at Brandeis," the Justice has let the pages of its Forum section convey the variety of reactions. We are enabling all members of the community who chose to express themselves an open forum to do so. By this method, we hope to both inform the campus about the controversy and provide an outlet for opinions, unaffected by the interpretation of a third-party writer.

In the Forum section, however, objectivity of the writer is not the ideal. Instead, the Justice strives for diversity of ideas, opinions expressed therein can get unavoidably personal. It is difficult, at a self-labeled "liberal" university, to represent a full breadth of opinion, and it's easy to forget how diverse sentiment on campus can be. For many, the piece opened old wounds and reminded all of us how much anger there is on this campus, coming from many directions. To understand the reaction in context, it is imperative to recognize the anger and isolation many students feel, perhaps first by introspection; if you in any way have felt different at Brandeis, multiply that by how much more different some students feel. The least a person can do to help build a constructive community is to listen to one's peers, and engage in dialogue.

Litovsky's column -- an expression of her opinion -- was not written to offend anyone. Rather, she has expressed feelings that we have seen that a lot of community members harbor, but do not know how to express. The controversy has made the Justice's Forum section the stage for discourse it ideally should be; it has allowed many students to express their varying opinions and to educate one another.

That's what this is all about: Education. Like classes and other school activities I have partook in at Brandeis, the Justice has been a tremendous learning experience in my life. That we can have civil discussions without vilifying anyone is a sign of maturity. And, that students who were upset about Litovsky's column can create a poster for discussion, resulting in many constructive, diverse opinions, is another step in the right direction. Litovsky has a right to her opinion, the Justice has a responsibility to represent a cross-section of opinions here on campus, and everyone has an opportunity to join the discussion.
I am glad that many Brandeis students seem to understand why printing Litovsky's article was so important, and why we uphold that action; a "Forum" section that never stirs controversy can never live up to its name.

Moving from one issue to another, I would like to apologize for the SDR interview of two weeks ago. Having listened to the tape of the interview last week, I think the piece should have been cut altogether. I have spoken to members of this community who expressed dismay about and disappointment with the piece, and I have grown to agree with them, especially with the actual interview in mind. The writer, and then the Arts editor, had to cut large portions of the interview because it was unfit for print. The band's comments weren't merely irrelevant; they were frequently lewd and even offensive. When we chose to print the piece, we had journalism in mind; we felt then that we had to report what was said, even if a lot of it isn't nice. But, ultimately, so much of that interview had to be cut for inappropriateness or expletives that what was left was out of context. And, one could argue that taking their comments out of context drastically negated any ability to represent what actually happened in the first place

To be fair, the laid-back environment and the band's inexperience with being interviewed set up an ambiance that may not have been conducive to producing a worthwhile interview. I am grateful for the maturity SDR displayed in their prompt apology, and I hope that the Justice's readership will accept ours as well. The Justice too is about education, and I am confident that next time, should there be one, the Justice and the members of SDR will be educated enough to not repeat this mistake.

To everyone who has contributed (and hopefully will continue to contribute) to the active Forum section of this week, thank you again for helping this newspaper be a part of community discussion at Brandeis, for better or for worse. I love to talk to other students and get constructive feedback about the Justice. You can e-mail me at justice@brandeis.edu. I would love to hear what you have to say.

-- Michaela May '03
Editor in Chief

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