Your Turn Letters to the Editor: SGA senator seeks to take away rights

SGA senator seeks to take away freedom of speech, press rights

After writing an article for The Commonwealth Times this past week, I received an e-mail from Mike Dickinson, a “recent SGA senator-elect.” Apparently this person has been “trying to reform student media at VCU, specifically The Commonwealth Times. I do not think they represent diverse views and opportunities for diverse individuals to get involved in The CT are extremely limited unless you are a mass communications student.” I sat back and thought about this e-mail, not really sure how to address it. Should I return a reply or simply state what I think here, thus reaching a larger audience and covering more people who have this belief? My decision, obviously, was to lay out my thoughts with The CT.

Being a criminal justice/political science major (notice there’s no mass communications in there) I can only assume that some people are not aware of their First Amendment rights. The CT, unlike most local papers, allows students to speak their minds. While you don’t have to agree with an article that anyone writes, as I did not agree with Alex Jones’ article (“Broad categories”), it is my right as well as his to speak freely in this country. As for the diversity issue, I can say with almost complete certainty that I represent one of the most diverse groups at VCU. A big problem is that people are not aware of what the word diversity really means. Diversity does not just cover racial, ethnic or religious lines. Diversity defined is to be made up of distinct characteristics, qualities or elements, or differing from one another. I am 33, an undergrad junior with a dual major and dual minors, I have five kids, a 3.4 GPA and am a member of several student organizations. This is what makes me diverse – not my gender, race or religion.

The e-mail went on to say, “Last fall PETA had an exhibit on campus that was as ignorant as the editorial in The CT. After the public expressed the view to the SGA an apology was issued that the actions of PETA were hurtful and wrong. I think the actions of The Commonwealth Times warrant the same action.” Just because someone’s article did not mesh with your train of thought does not make it ignorant.

Do I agree with the whole PETA exhibit? Absolutely not, but it is the members’ right, regardless of how much hot water they get in, to run with it. If they are willing to take the heat from a project like that going public, then they have that right. I have to agree that it was offensive but hardly ignorant considering a lot of people probably spent a lot of time coming up with the idea. I’m not a PETA advocate (sorry guys, but I like a good burger every now and then) but its rights to free speech are no different than yours or mine. Just because I don’t agree with its view does not make it wrong, anymore than my view does if someone else disagrees with it.

If I were to edit everything I write in order not to offend anyone in the entire VCU population, I would never write anything because, let’s face it, someone is always going to disagree with my views. The fact that I send in content to The CT stating my opinion is what makes me different from those out there who want to speak up but do nothing. If you want your opinion heard, write to The CT with something that is meaningful and thought-provoking rather than just a slam against the paper. Do you think the Richmond Times-Dispatch would print your article if you wrote it and slammed everyone else’s opinion? Not likely. The CT on the other hand, allows students to freely express their views regardless if they are the target for that rage or if it is another source. The problem everyone can’t see is that VCU’s approximate 29,000 student population means that The CT must limit student response simply due to lack of space. It is not an intentional effort to leave someone out but rather to pick the responses that seem to cover the largest range of opinions within the student body on a subject.

The last section of this e-mail urged me to “e-mail several key Student Government Association members and tell them you want to see a public apology issued and see action taken to investigate why you cannot hold someone responsible.” I was taken aback by this a bit because what this person is asking me to do is to join in his demand that The CT apologize for allowing VCU students to express their rights to freedom of speech as well as overlook The CT’s own freedom of press rights. Is what he would like to see not a freely run student newspaper, but rather a censored version that would not offend anyone? As much as I like The CT I’m pretty sure it would be boring just flipping through blank pages, because that’s what the paper would be if it stretched to accommodate not offending anyone.

What truly bothers me is not the views of the ever-growing population of VCU students or the fact that The CT prints them in as much space as they have available, but rather that people like Dickinson hold positions in the SGA. If we want to go into programs where diversity is misplaced, the SGA would be a good place to start. As I said before, people have no idea what diversity really covers. They think it has only to do with race and ethnical background so if they have someone of color or not of American heritage on the panel, then they are covering all ranges of diversity. Rarely does the SGA, or most other organizations on campus for that matter, deal with the group of undergraduate students over the age of 25 who are going back to school, yet they represent 15 percent of the student body. Yet amazingly I am not suggesting that the SGA review its policies of elections because it is the students’ right to elect whom they choose.

The fact that Dickinson has enough free time to look up my e-mail address and mass e-mail me along with everyone else who expressed an opinion against Jones’ article shows that sometimes people can have too much time on their hands. It is also more than obvious that Dickinson did not take the time to pick up a paper on Thursday and read the other article I had written for The CT before writing this e-mail asking me to join in the fight to suppress your rights to freedom of speech and the rights of The CT to freedom of the press.

For Dickinson, while I was annoyed by Jones’ article, it is his right – regardless of how irritated I become – to express himself. I hardly blame his comments in The CT and think it was right in printing his article and allowing him to express himself. If we were to do as you wish, none of us would be allowed to speak our opinions without being censored. It is more unfortunate to me that you hold a position in the SGA with beliefs like those. My suggestion to you would be to seek out a criminal justice professor, preferably Dr. Robyn Lacks since she is the professor I have gotten the most information from, and have her explain your Bill of Rights to you. At the very least, get a dictionary (they have those in the library, it’s the big white building behind the Commons) and look up the word diversity. You should more carefully consider your words when trying to get someone to jump on the bandwagon with you and know that you would not have been able to contact me about my response to Jones had The CT not printed my views. I can imagine that since my article does not conform with your narrow view of the world it will also become a pawn in your quest to strip VCU students of their right to free speech.

For everyone else, if you believe in your rights to free speech, freedom of the press and think that every VCU student has the right to express their opinion without fear of persecution, please continue to read The CT. Regardless of anyone’s opinion, this is a free country and there should be no oppression of our rights, no matter what level.

Kadie Puffenbarger