Reflection on Wednesday’s dialogue about the Karson article
Dear CU Faculty and Students,
Wednesday I attended a public dialogue that addressed issues of racism on the CU campus as perpetuated by this publication. This meeting was attended by faculty members, members of UCSU, members of various diversity groups on campus, members of The Campus Press and other students. Many concerns regarding racism, bigotry, stereotypes and safety on campus were addressed and many solutions for how to move forward were proposed.
I would like to also move forward. I thank everyone involved in the dialogue for addressing this issue and for inviting me to listen despite the hurt that has been felt.
In approving Max’s article, I believed I was going to be powerful in a positive way. I now realize that my perspective on race and stereotypes at CU is far too narrow. Since I had not ever experienced racial tension directed at me, it was not my right to approve Max’s column.
I let Max have his voice, and it was my goal from the beginning to let everyone have theirs as well. It is apparent that I have failed in this. In trying to make Campus Press a place where many voices could be heard, it has been brought to my attention that many voices were stifled, and are continuously stifled by the environment at CU.
The opinion section has been put on hold until we can develop formal guidelines for opinions published at the Campus Press. We are consulting with various opinion editors from other publications and using what we have learned from this experience to develop these criteria.
I would like to encourage anyone who would like to write an opinion about their experiences at CU, experiences surrounding this article or otherwise to do so. I still believe that we can use the recent events as a means to move forward. I also encourage anyone who would like to write opinions on current news, international affairs, national affairs etc, to submit them.
I would like to push this dialogue in a more positive direction, one that members of diversity groups on campus and UCSU already have. From those of us here at Campus Press, to faculty, alumni, and students, we would all like to hear some new voices.
Sincerely,
Amanda Pehrson
Opinions Section Editor
