OPINION & EDITORIAL
School has barely started and already it’s hunting season
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Also by Theresa Vidaurri and Anna Marie Vu:
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by Theresa Vidaurri and Anna Marie Vu
Thursday, September 25, 2003
The Badger Herald is back at its wonderful games of targeting and taunting student organizations. The Multicultural Student Coalition has been on the top of its radar screen for the past three years. Most people would ask, “Has the Badger Herald covered anything besides MCSC’s budget hearings?” Basically no — unless, of course, you count controversies that it or its political partners have fabricated.
The Herald’s main concern over MCSC’s worthiness for funding is that MCSC isn’t visible enough.
How can this be? How many students on campus could tell you what the acronyms of ASM, DoS, VCSA or even UHS are? Very few. It may even surprise students to find out that one of the four, UHS, also receives a large amount of segregated fees. Though these venues offer student services for all, like MCSC, many of you may have never even seen or used them.
However, just because you haven’t utilized these services does not mean that they aren’t valuable or necessary on campus.
Many students may not know they can walk into the Dean of Students’ office, be greeted with a smile and provided with assistance. UHS is more than just a place to go when you don’t feel well. It provides services addressing domestic violence and alcohol and drug rehabilitation, just to mention a few.
The main reason students may not know the existence and function of all organizations or departments present on campus is directly related to the sheer size of this university, which approximately 40,000 students attend. It is a decentralized campus. Not all 40,000 students will ever know of these resources, but you cannot put the blame of their uninformed state on the shoulders of one student organization.
The history of the Herald needs clarification. The Herald has been an independent newspaper since 1969, but don’t let “independent” fool you. It was created and funded by a conservative think tank to counter the very progressive coverage of The Daily Cardinal (a publication that supported the anti-war movement during the Vietnam War). In response to the public’s overwhelming opposition to the war, conservatives created the rightist breeding ground, The Badger Herald.
Today, The Badger Herald Editorial Board is made up of a number of homogenous individuals. Some have plotted against legitimate student representatives from ASM’s ninth session while not even on campus.
They even had a staff writer who was found guilty of violating viewpoint neutrality while serving on SSFC later write an opinion piece on viewpoint neutrality. Doesn’t that seem somewhat contradictory? What does this person know about viewpoint neutrality if he was kicked off SSFC for violating a Supreme Court mandate on our segregated-fee process?
Then where can the student body find honest coverage of their campus politics if the Herald refuses to function as such?
The Madison Observer is a new and alternative media source. One article in particular has been referenced out of context numerous times out of the six publications printed last year. Primarily, the sole purpose of The Madison Observer is to become the instrument used to encourage and promote free speech, just like any other publication under the First Amendment.
A great example of this was an article written by Carl Camacho, a recent UW graduate, that was published in the opinion section of The Madison Observer. The piece related his experience while he served as an ASM L&S representative and former SSFC member.
If staff of The Madison Observer had denied Camacho the right to voice his opinion and viewpoint, it would then have made The Madison Observer an opponent of free speech. Many people have attempted to have their articles printed on the pages of the Herald and have been unjustly denied this right. MCSC supports this alternative media source and recognizes its importance in circulating the views and opinions of voices so often silent on this campus.
It’s fine to question student organizations and what they are doing on campus to benefit all students. In fact, all entities which claim to serve and represent the opinions and provide services for the student body should be held accountable to their claims and actions. But when the people who call to question are themselves not knowledgeable about the organizations that they are morally against, what exactly can this amount to but a biased and uninformed critique of the downfall of campus climate that they themselves contribute to by their miseducation?
Theresa Vidaurri and Anna Marie Vu are members of the MCSC. They may be contacted at mcsc411@yahoo.com.
