Addressing Concerns about The Medium

November 24, 2003

Members of the Rutgers Community:

Earlier this month, several items in the personals section of The Medium, a student publication, contained racist and deeply offensive language. These personals were completely at odds with the values of the Rutgers community. Publishing them showed poor judgment by the editors.

Many people in the Rutgers community have reacted to the personals with outrage. Students organized several protest rallies. Vice President for Student Affairs Emmet Dennis and Rutgers College Dean Carl Kirschner issued written statements condemning these personals, and I denounced their publication in an interview with The Daily Targum and in several other venues. Many students have pointed out that the racist personals were only the most recent example of appalling material printed by The Medium, and they do not want their student fees used to support hate speech.

The First Amendment protects the paper's right to exist, and the courts have consistently upheld the right to print hate speech. The Medium's funding comes from student fees allocated by Livingston and Rutgers College governing associations. While it is understandable that many students want to shut down the paper because of its content, to do so would clearly break the law. [For a Q&A discussion of funding and First Amendment issues, visit http://www.president.rutgers.edu/medium_QA.shtml.]

These restrictions do not mean that we are helpless to change the situation. Over the past 12 days, many meetings and public forums have been held to express the hurt and anger that students have felt. Student leaders such as Jason Redd, student representative to the Board of Governors, and Justin Rose of the United Black Council have met with me and have organized meetings at which offended students and Medium editors could air their views face to face. I credit students on both sides of the controversy for their willingness to confront these issues in this way.

Out of these private and public meetings a dialogue has begun, and perhaps the first steps toward progress. At a meeting I held last Friday with students and administrators, it was clear that the editors were serious about reform. They listened as other students asked them to revisit their guidelines for publishing personals, which are now anonymous. I reiterated my request that the editors think about the implications of what they publish and whom it may hurt, and thus show discretion in what they print. And acting on a request first made at that meeting, Vice President Dennis will be working with deans, student governing associations, and cultural councils on a committee to review the procedures and policies for recognizing student organizations, including campus media, and distributing student fees.

More will be done. I will act on Justin Rose's recommendation that I meet regularly with student cultural organizations to hear from them about issues of concern. Executive Director of Public Safety Jay Kohl has been asked to recommend ways to enhance student safety, which may be compromised by hate speech. And I have given approval to the Committee to Advance Our Common Purposes to conduct a campus climate survey that will address a broad range of issues important to Rutgers students, faculty, and staff. This survey can help us understand the source and extent of problems – including several recent high-profile incidents – that clearly have created an uncomfortable environment for some members of our university community.

Rutgers University is a community whose diversity enriches the learning experience for everyone. Racist and mean-spirited language attacks our sense of community and promotes a culture of hate, violence, and fear that has no place on an enlightened campus. We must not condone that kind of behavior from our students or from anyone in our community. We all have a responsibility to promote an environment in which faculty, staff, and especially students can work, live, and learn without fear of bias or attack because of their race, gender, religion, political views, or sexual orientation.

As we repair the wounds this incident has caused, let us also strengthen the Rutgers community and set an example for the greater society by showing respect and civility toward each other in word and deed.

Richard L. McCormick
President
Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey