News story from email

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WG
---

Abusive fliers posted on newspaper's door
By Chris Moran
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 19, 2005

CHULA VISTA - A college newspaper opinion piece calling for a crackdown on illegal
immigrants has critics calling it a racist incitement to violence.


Campus journalists, many of whom disagree with the piece politically, say they stand
by First Amendment rights to publish unpopular opinions.
Reaction to the commentary has been strident.

Protesters posted abusive fliers on the door of the newspaper's office. The writer
of the opinion piece and the newspaper's faculty adviser said they have been
threatened or harassed.

The escalating rancor prompted students to hold a forum last week in the campus
free-speech plaza to talk about the issue.

Student Nathaniel Pownell's opinion piece in The Southwestern College Sun on
illegal immigration states, "It is time to burn the leaches (sic) off our society
and crack down on the people who flagrantly take advantage of America's wealth and
prosperity."

That's tantamount to Nazis calling Jews parasites, critics say, and has no place in
a newspaper. Student groups have called for a boycott of the Sun. It's a free
publication, but the student groups are urging people not to pick it up off the
racks.

Pownell said the line was not a call to burn or harm people, but to cut off the
publicly funded benefits that illegal immigrants receive.

Protesting student groups accuse the Sun of hiding behind the First Amendment,
which protects freedom of expression, including speech and the press.

Campus journalists maintain that while the rhetoric of the commentary is edgy, the
First Amendment is meant to protect unpopular viewpoints.

Students For Community Action, a campus socialist group, and MEChA, a campus Chicano
group, have called for a retraction and apology from the Sun for publishing the
commentary.

"We feel he crossed the line," said MEChA co-chairwoman Gaby Arenivas. "He's
attacking a group of people that can't come and tell him, 'No, don't do this.' "

Pownell said he has already told his detractors, "I'd like to apologize if I hurt
your feelings, but I'm not going to apologize for what I wrote."


In December
It all started in early December.
When the student editors saw the piece by Pownell, the lone conservative voice on a
staff of self-described liberals, they anticipated a possible backlash, but decided
to publish it in the interest of presenting a range of viewpoints.

The Sun has won more than 400 local, regional and national journalism awards in the
past three years. A banner in the front office announces, "Southwestern College Sun,
2003-04 National Pacemaker Award, Pulitzer Prize of college journalism."

The Sun's regular run of 5,000 copies hit the stands Dec. 8. The paper is
distributed throughout campus, as well as citywide at stores, coffee shops and
libraries. Newspaper staffers said there were no calls, letters or comments in the
days following publication.

But when students came back from break on Jan. 19, Arenivas saw fellow MEChA members
crying and angrily denouncing the piece as they read it. MEChA called for a meeting
with both the Sun staff and the college administration.

"We made it clear at that meeting that it was an individual opinion," said Sun
faculty adviser Max Branscomb. "It was on the Viewpoints page, and it did not come
close to reflecting the point of view of the staff as a whole."

Branscomb's wife, Leslie Wolf Branscomb, is a staff writer at The San Diego
Union-Tribune.

Robin McCubbin, a faculty adviser for Students For Community Action, attended the
meeting. He later wrote in a statement to the college's faculty that the piece was
"a racist attack and call for violence (How else should the recommendation of the
application of fire to the body of a living organism be characterized?)."

In an interview, McCubbin said, "Even if it's legal, is there any justification for
it appearing in a newspaper for our campus?"

But MEChA faculty adviser Margarita Andrade-Robledo was won over by Branscomb's
defense of freedom of the press.

"I don't like the article, but the First Amendment gives them that right" to publish
it, she concluded.

Because Andrade-Robledo would not support the club in continuing to call for a
retraction and an apology, the MEChA board ousted her as adviser.

MEChA and Students for Community Action organized last week's forum to talk about
the commentary.

When student journalists showed up at the Sun office on the morning of the forum,
the door was plastered with fliers. The messages included, "Kiss my brown illegal
ass, Nathaniel," "Racism has to go" and "Lynchings used to be announced in
newspapers."

Campus police took photos of the fliers. Sgt. Torrance Carrington, the college's
interim chief of police, said the only violation is of a municipal ordinance against
unauthorized posting of fliers. But since police don't know who did it, there's no
one to charge.

Branscomb was invited to speak at the forum. He said he tried but was quickly
shouted down by angry students. Other speakers denounced the Sun for publishing the
piece.

Branscomb said that the next day, as he walked toward the Sun's office, a group of
students gave him a Nazi-style salute.


Right to publish
Paola Ivette Monroy, an editor and sex columnist at the paper, said that she was
once an illegal immigrant, and she disagrees with Pownell, but she supports the
Sun's right to publish his commentary.
As she was walking to class with Pownell last week, she said, two young men
threatened to assault them.

Pownell said he intends to continue writing opinion pieces for the paper. He said
he's considering suing the student groups for defamation of character.

Arenivas said the student groups are also considering litigation, though she didn't
specify on what grounds.

She said another option is to start an alternative campus paper that would be funded
by taking half the Sun's budget.

Southwestern College spokeswoman Nevada Smith said the administration's position is
that the Sun had the right to publish the piece and that MEChA had the right to
protest it.

College President Norma Hernandez said at a campus student government meeting
Thursday that she would consider the protesting groups' request for funding for a
second newspaper.

Branscomb said he was trying to educate the campus community on the difference
between news and opinion, between unsigned editorials that represent the newspaper's
official view and signed commentary that represents individual opinion.

There's a lesson for his students, too, he said.

"A good ending is that journalism students will learn that they have to choose their
words carefully and you can hurt people without trying," he said.

I received this via e-mail. Please post these stories here with links to the originals instead of sending them to me. My assistant will pick several stories per week from this thread to go on the homepage.
WG
---

Abusive fliers posted on newspaper's door
By Chris Moran
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 19, 2005

CHULA VISTA - A college newspaper opinion piece calling for a crackdown on illegal
immigrants has critics calling it a racist incitement to violence.


Campus journalists, many of whom disagree with the piece politically, say they stand
by First Amendment rights to publish unpopular opinions.
Reaction to the commentary has been strident.

Protesters posted abusive fliers on the door of the newspaper's office. The writer
of the opinion piece and the newspaper's faculty adviser said they have been
threatened or harassed.

The escalating rancor prompted students to hold a forum last week in the campus
free-speech plaza to talk about the issue.

Student Nathaniel Pownell's opinion piece in The Southwestern College Sun on
illegal immigration states, "It is time to burn the leaches (sic) off our society
and crack down on the people who flagrantly take advantage of America's wealth and
prosperity."

That's tantamount to Nazis calling Jews parasites, critics say, and has no place in
a newspaper. Student groups have called for a boycott of the Sun. It's a free
publication, but the student groups are urging people not to pick it up off the
racks.

Pownell said the line was not a call to burn or harm people, but to cut off the
publicly funded benefits that illegal immigrants receive.

Protesting student groups accuse the Sun of hiding behind the First Amendment,
which protects freedom of expression, including speech and the press.

Campus journalists maintain that while the rhetoric of the commentary is edgy, the
First Amendment is meant to protect unpopular viewpoints.

Students For Community Action, a campus socialist group, and MEChA, a campus Chicano
group, have called for a retraction and apology from the Sun for publishing the
commentary.

"We feel he crossed the line," said MEChA co-chairwoman Gaby Arenivas. "He's
attacking a group of people that can't come and tell him, 'No, don't do this.' "

Pownell said he has already told his detractors, "I'd like to apologize if I hurt
your feelings, but I'm not going to apologize for what I wrote."


In December
It all started in early December.
When the student editors saw the piece by Pownell, the lone conservative voice on a
staff of self-described liberals, they anticipated a possible backlash, but decided
to publish it in the interest of presenting a range of viewpoints.

The Sun has won more than 400 local, regional and national journalism awards in the
past three years. A banner in the front office announces, "Southwestern College Sun,
2003-04 National Pacemaker Award, Pulitzer Prize of college journalism."

The Sun's regular run of 5,000 copies hit the stands Dec. 8. The paper is
distributed throughout campus, as well as citywide at stores, coffee shops and
libraries. Newspaper staffers said there were no calls, letters or comments in the
days following publication.

But when students came back from break on Jan. 19, Arenivas saw fellow MEChA members
crying and angrily denouncing the piece as they read it. MEChA called for a meeting
with both the Sun staff and the college administration.

"We made it clear at that meeting that it was an individual opinion," said Sun
faculty adviser Max Branscomb. "It was on the Viewpoints page, and it did not come
close to reflecting the point of view of the staff as a whole."

Branscomb's wife, Leslie Wolf Branscomb, is a staff writer at The San Diego
Union-Tribune.

Robin McCubbin, a faculty adviser for Students For Community Action, attended the
meeting. He later wrote in a statement to the college's faculty that the piece was
"a racist attack and call for violence (How else should the recommendation of the
application of fire to the body of a living organism be characterized?)."

In an interview, McCubbin said, "Even if it's legal, is there any justification for
it appearing in a newspaper for our campus?"

But MEChA faculty adviser Margarita Andrade-Robledo was won over by Branscomb's
defense of freedom of the press.

"I don't like the article, but the First Amendment gives them that right" to publish
it, she concluded.

Because Andrade-Robledo would not support the club in continuing to call for a
retraction and an apology, the MEChA board ousted her as adviser.

MEChA and Students for Community Action organized last week's forum to talk about
the commentary.

When student journalists showed up at the Sun office on the morning of the forum,
the door was plastered with fliers. The messages included, "Kiss my brown illegal
ass, Nathaniel," "Racism has to go" and "Lynchings used to be announced in
newspapers."

Campus police took photos of the fliers. Sgt. Torrance Carrington, the college's
interim chief of police, said the only violation is of a municipal ordinance against
unauthorized posting of fliers. But since police don't know who did it, there's no
one to charge.

Branscomb was invited to speak at the forum. He said he tried but was quickly
shouted down by angry students. Other speakers denounced the Sun for publishing the
piece.

Branscomb said that the next day, as he walked toward the Sun's office, a group of
students gave him a Nazi-style salute.


Right to publish
Paola Ivette Monroy, an editor and sex columnist at the paper, said that she was
once an illegal immigrant, and she disagrees with Pownell, but she supports the
Sun's right to publish his commentary.
As she was walking to class with Pownell last week, she said, two young men
threatened to assault them.

Pownell said he intends to continue writing opinion pieces for the paper. He said
he's considering suing the student groups for defamation of character.

Arenivas said the student groups are also considering litigation, though she didn't
specify on what grounds.

She said another option is to start an alternative campus paper that would be funded
by taking half the Sun's budget.

Southwestern College spokeswoman Nevada Smith said the administration's position is
that the Sun had the right to publish the piece and that MEChA had the right to
protest it.

College President Norma Hernandez said at a campus student government meeting
Thursday that she would consider the protesting groups' request for funding for a
second newspaper.

Branscomb said he was trying to educate the campus community on the difference
between news and opinion, between unsigned editorials that represent the newspaper's
official view and signed commentary that represents individual opinion.

There's a lesson for his students, too, he said.

"A good ending is that journalism students will learn that they have to choose their
words carefully and you can hurt people without trying," he said.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

I received this via e-mail. Please post these stories here with links to the originals instead of sending them to me. My assistant will pick several stories per week from this thread to go on the homepage.
WG
---

Abusive fliers posted on newspaper's door
By Chris Moran
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 19, 2005

CHULA VISTA - A college newspaper opinion piece calling for a crackdown on illegal
immigrants has critics calling it a racist incitement to violence.


Campus journalists, many of whom disagree with the piece politically, say they stand
by First Amendment rights to publish unpopular opinions.
Reaction to the commentary has been strident.

Protesters posted abusive fliers on the door of the newspaper's office. The writer
of the opinion piece and the newspaper's faculty adviser said they have been
threatened or harassed.

The escalating rancor prompted students to hold a forum last week in the campus
free-speech plaza to talk about the issue.

Student Nathaniel Pownell's opinion piece in The Southwestern College Sun on
illegal immigration states, "It is time to burn the leaches (sic) off our society
and crack down on the people who flagrantly take advantage of America's wealth and
prosperity."

That's tantamount to Nazis calling Jews parasites, critics say, and has no place in
a newspaper. Student groups have called for a boycott of the Sun. It's a free
publication, but the student groups are urging people not to pick it up off the
racks.

Pownell said the line was not a call to burn or harm people, but to cut off the
publicly funded benefits that illegal immigrants receive.

Protesting student groups accuse the Sun of hiding behind the First Amendment,
which protects freedom of expression, including speech and the press.

Campus journalists maintain that while the rhetoric of the commentary is edgy, the
First Amendment is meant to protect unpopular viewpoints.

Students For Community Action, a campus socialist group, and MEChA, a campus Chicano
group, have called for a retraction and apology from the Sun for publishing the
commentary.

"We feel he crossed the line," said MEChA co-chairwoman Gaby Arenivas. "He's
attacking a group of people that can't come and tell him, 'No, don't do this.' "

Pownell said he has already told his detractors, "I'd like to apologize if I hurt
your feelings, but I'm not going to apologize for what I wrote."


In December
It all started in early December.
When the student editors saw the piece by Pownell, the lone conservative voice on a
staff of self-described liberals, they anticipated a possible backlash, but decided
to publish it in the interest of presenting a range of viewpoints.

The Sun has won more than 400 local, regional and national journalism awards in the
past three years. A banner in the front office announces, "Southwestern College Sun,
2003-04 National Pacemaker Award, Pulitzer Prize of college journalism."

The Sun's regular run of 5,000 copies hit the stands Dec. 8. The paper is
distributed throughout campus, as well as citywide at stores, coffee shops and
libraries. Newspaper staffers said there were no calls, letters or comments in the
days following publication.

But when students came back from break on Jan. 19, Arenivas saw fellow MEChA members
crying and angrily denouncing the piece as they read it. MEChA called for a meeting
with both the Sun staff and the college administration.

"We made it clear at that meeting that it was an individual opinion," said Sun
faculty adviser Max Branscomb. "It was on the Viewpoints page, and it did not come
close to reflecting the point of view of the staff as a whole."

Branscomb's wife, Leslie Wolf Branscomb, is a staff writer at The San Diego
Union-Tribune.

Robin McCubbin, a faculty adviser for Students For Community Action, attended the
meeting. He later wrote in a statement to the college's faculty that the piece was
"a racist attack and call for violence (How else should the recommendation of the
application of fire to the body of a living organism be characterized?)."

In an interview, McCubbin said, "Even if it's legal, is there any justification for
it appearing in a newspaper for our campus?"

But MEChA faculty adviser Margarita Andrade-Robledo was won over by Branscomb's
defense of freedom of the press.

"I don't like the article, but the First Amendment gives them that right" to publish
it, she concluded.

Because Andrade-Robledo would not support the club in continuing to call for a
retraction and an apology, the MEChA board ousted her as adviser.

MEChA and Students for Community Action organized last week's forum to talk about
the commentary.

When student journalists showed up at the Sun office on the morning of the forum,
the door was plastered with fliers. The messages included, "Kiss my brown illegal
ass, Nathaniel," "Racism has to go" and "Lynchings used to be announced in
newspapers."

Campus police took photos of the fliers. Sgt. Torrance Carrington, the college's
interim chief of police, said the only violation is of a municipal ordinance against
unauthorized posting of fliers. But since police don't know who did it, there's no
one to charge.

Branscomb was invited to speak at the forum. He said he tried but was quickly
shouted down by angry students. Other speakers denounced the Sun for publishing the
piece.

Branscomb said that the next day, as he walked toward the Sun's office, a group of
students gave him a Nazi-style salute.


Right to publish
Paola Ivette Monroy, an editor and sex columnist at the paper, said that she was
once an illegal immigrant, and she disagrees with Pownell, but she supports the
Sun's right to publish his commentary.
As she was walking to class with Pownell last week, she said, two young men
threatened to assault them.

Pownell said he intends to continue writing opinion pieces for the paper. He said
he's considering suing the student groups for defamation of character.

Arenivas said the student groups are also considering litigation, though she didn't
specify on what grounds.

She said another option is to start an alternative campus paper that would be funded
by taking half the Sun's budget.

Southwestern College spokeswoman Nevada Smith said the administration's position is
that the Sun had the right to publish the piece and that MEChA had the right to
protest it.

College President Norma Hernandez said at a campus student government meeting
Thursday that she would consider the protesting groups' request for funding for a
second newspaper.

Branscomb said he was trying to educate the campus community on the difference
between news and opinion, between unsigned editorials that represent the newspaper's
official view and signed commentary that represents individual opinion.

There's a lesson for his students, too, he said.

"A good ending is that journalism students will learn that they have to choose their
words carefully and you can hurt people without trying," he said.

---

And there's more from a group called "FIST".

--
Keith

http://www.workers.org/us/2005/fist_0217/

FIST fights campus racism
By Ruth Vela
San Diego, Calif.

Published Feb 13, 2005 7:32 PM
The San Diego chapter of Fight Imperialism-Stand Together (FIST) was created and operates out of Southwestern College, the southernmost school in California. A majority of its students are of Mexican descent. Some live in Tijuana, Mexico, and must commute into the United States to attend school every day.



FIST
Many students are not "legal" U.S. citizens. As such, they often pay higher fees, do not qualify for financial aid and cannot apply for scholarships. On top of homework and tests, they have to worry about incarceration and deportation.

Recently the Southwestern College school newspaper, The Sun, ran an editorial by one of its staff writers entitled, "Illegal Immigrants Are Taxing on American Citizens." The piece was a blatant attack on immigrants. It stated, "It is time to burn the leeches off of our society and crack down on the people who flagrantly take advantage of America's wealth and prosperity."

Some students believe the article also included fictitious quotes, like this one from Marjorie De La Cruz: "The government needs to tighten if not close its southern borders to protect its citizens and legal immigrants from the inevitable poverty and diseases these people bring."

In response to this racist attack, members of FIST, MEChA and other campus organizations have formed the ERACISM coalition. The coalition launched a campaign that has collected over 700 signatures from students who feel attacked, harassed and let down by Southwestern College, The Sun newspaper and the school administration.

The administration has responded by sending campus police to harass students in an effort to prevent the distribution of flyers and collection of signatures. It has been trying to sweep the movement under the rug.

Emails mentioning FIST members by name and referring to the group as "just one or two upset students" have circulated among administrators who seem to value their positions more than their students.

On Jan. 27, representatives of the student organizations and their advisors met with the editors and professor in charge of the newspaper in an effort to put the issue to rest.

The following demands were presented to the staff of The Sun: 1) A printed apology from The Sun to the students of Southwestern College; 2) a retraction of the line that begins, "It's time to burn the leeches off of our society ..."; 3) that limitations be set on what the school newspaper can print; 4) that the student coalition's rebuttal be printed without censorship; and 5) that the school newspaper remain free of racist propaganda.

Unfortunately, the meeting ended with Nathaniel Pownell, the writer of the piece, screaming, "I am not a racist. ... I will not apologize for the article, I will never apologize for the article!"

On Jan. 31, The Sun sent a letter to the ERACISM coalition that failed to address any of its demands. Instead it offered free advertising for future events. ERACISM responded with a promise that the struggle is not over.

A campus rally is planned for Feb. 10. ERACISM has received strong support from students and members of the local labor and anti-war community.

FIST stated: "The school administration, the newspaper and the entire city need to understand that this will not be tolerated! Hopefully this action will remind those who need reminding, and teach those who have not learned, that this country was built on the backs of African slave labor and immigrants, that the land was stolen from Indigenous people who inhabited it before the immigrants arrived, and above all that THERE ARE NO BORDERS IN THE WORKERS' STRUGGLE!"

Letters supporting ERACISM's demands to The Sun newspaper and the administration will help in this struggle. Send them to eracismswc@hotmail.net by Feb. 17.

Vela is an organizer of the San Diego FIST chapter.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by ALIPAC

I received this via e-mail. Please post these stories here with links to the originals instead of sending them to me. My assistant will pick several stories per week from this thread to go on the homepage.
WG
---

Abusive fliers posted on newspaper's door
By Chris Moran
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
February 19, 2005

CHULA VISTA - A college newspaper opinion piece calling for a crackdown on illegal
immigrants has critics calling it a racist incitement to violence.


Campus journalists, many of whom disagree with the piece politically, say they stand
by First Amendment rights to publish unpopular opinions.
Reaction to the commentary has been strident.

Protesters posted abusive fliers on the door of the newspaper's office. The writer
of the opinion piece and the newspaper's faculty adviser said they have been
threatened or harassed.

The escalating rancor prompted students to hold a forum last week in the campus
free-speech plaza to talk about the issue.

Student Nathaniel Pownell's opinion piece in The Southwestern College Sun on
illegal immigration states, "It is time to burn the leaches (sic) off our society
and crack down on the people who flagrantly take advantage of America's wealth and
prosperity."

That's tantamount to Nazis calling Jews parasites, critics say, and has no place in
a newspaper. Student groups have called for a boycott of the Sun. It's a free
publication, but the student groups are urging people not to pick it up off the
racks.

Pownell said the line was not a call to burn or harm people, but to cut off the
publicly funded benefits that illegal immigrants receive.

Protesting student groups accuse the Sun of hiding behind the First Amendment,
which protects freedom of expression, including speech and the press.

Campus journalists maintain that while the rhetoric of the commentary is edgy, the
First Amendment is meant to protect unpopular viewpoints.

Students For Community Action, a campus socialist group, and MEChA, a campus Chicano
group, have called for a retraction and apology from the Sun for publishing the
commentary.

"We feel he crossed the line," said MEChA co-chairwoman Gaby Arenivas. "He's
attacking a group of people that can't come and tell him, 'No, don't do this.' "

Pownell said he has already told his detractors, "I'd like to apologize if I hurt
your feelings, but I'm not going to apologize for what I wrote."


In December
It all started in early December.
When the student editors saw the piece by Pownell, the lone conservative voice on a
staff of self-described liberals, they anticipated a possible backlash, but decided
to publish it in the interest of presenting a range of viewpoints.

The Sun has won more than 400 local, regional and national journalism awards in the
past three years. A banner in the front office announces, "Southwestern College Sun,
2003-04 National Pacemaker Award, Pulitzer Prize of college journalism."

The Sun's regular run of 5,000 copies hit the stands Dec. 8. The paper is
distributed throughout campus, as well as citywide at stores, coffee shops and
libraries. Newspaper staffers said there were no calls, letters or comments in the
days following publication.

But when students came back from break on Jan. 19, Arenivas saw fellow MEChA members
crying and angrily denouncing the piece as they read it. MEChA called for a meeting
with both the Sun staff and the college administration.

"We made it clear at that meeting that it was an individual opinion," said Sun
faculty adviser Max Branscomb. "It was on the Viewpoints page, and it did not come
close to reflecting the point of view of the staff as a whole."

Branscomb's wife, Leslie Wolf Branscomb, is a staff writer at The San Diego
Union-Tribune.

Robin McCubbin, a faculty adviser for Students For Community Action, attended the
meeting. He later wrote in a statement to the college's faculty that the piece was
"a racist attack and call for violence (How else should the recommendation of the
application of fire to the body of a living organism be characterized?)."

In an interview, McCubbin said, "Even if it's legal, is there any justification for
it appearing in a newspaper for our campus?"

But MEChA faculty adviser Margarita Andrade-Robledo was won over by Branscomb's
defense of freedom of the press.

"I don't like the article, but the First Amendment gives them that right" to publish
it, she concluded.

Because Andrade-Robledo would not support the club in continuing to call for a
retraction and an apology, the MEChA board ousted her as adviser.

MEChA and Students for Community Action organized last week's forum to talk about
the commentary.

When student journalists showed up at the Sun office on the morning of the forum,
the door was plastered with fliers. The messages included, "Kiss my brown illegal
ass, Nathaniel," "Racism has to go" and "Lynchings used to be announced in
newspapers."

Campus police took photos of the fliers. Sgt. Torrance Carrington, the college's
interim chief of police, said the only violation is of a municipal ordinance against
unauthorized posting of fliers. But since police don't know who did it, there's no
one to charge.

Branscomb was invited to speak at the forum. He said he tried but was quickly
shouted down by angry students. Other speakers denounced the Sun for publishing the
piece.

Branscomb said that the next day, as he walked toward the Sun's office, a group of
students gave him a Nazi-style salute.


Right to publish
Paola Ivette Monroy, an editor and sex columnist at the paper, said that she was
once an illegal immigrant, and she disagrees with Pownell, but she supports the
Sun's right to publish his commentary.
As she was walking to class with Pownell last week, she said, two young men
threatened to assault them.

Pownell said he intends to continue writing opinion pieces for the paper. He said
he's considering suing the student groups for defamation of character.

Arenivas said the student groups are also considering litigation, though she didn't
specify on what grounds.

She said another option is to start an alternative campus paper that would be funded
by taking half the Sun's budget.

Southwestern College spokeswoman Nevada Smith said the administration's position is
that the Sun had the right to publish the piece and that MEChA had the right to
protest it.

College President Norma Hernandez said at a campus student government meeting
Thursday that she would consider the protesting groups' request for funding for a
second newspaper.

Branscomb said he was trying to educate the campus community on the difference
between news and opinion, between unsigned editorials that represent the newspaper's
official view and signed commentary that represents individual opinion.

There's a lesson for his students, too, he said.

"A good ending is that journalism students will learn that they have to choose their
words carefully and you can hurt people without trying," he said.

---

And there's more from a group called "FIST".

--
Keith

http://www.workers.org/us/2005/fist_0217/

FIST fights campus racism
By Ruth Vela
San Diego, Calif.

Published Feb 13, 2005 7:32 PM
The San Diego chapter of Fight Imperialism-Stand Together (FIST) was created and operates out of Southwestern College, the southernmost school in California. A majority of its students are of Mexican descent. Some live in Tijuana, Mexico, and must commute into the United States to attend school every day.



FIST
Many students are not "legal" U.S. citizens. As such, they often pay higher fees, do not qualify for financial aid and cannot apply for scholarships. On top of homework and tests, they have to worry about incarceration and deportation.

Recently the Southwestern College school newspaper, The Sun, ran an editorial by one of its staff writers entitled, "Illegal Immigrants Are Taxing on American Citizens." The piece was a blatant attack on immigrants. It stated, "It is time to burn the leeches off of our society and crack down on the people who flagrantly take advantage of America's wealth and prosperity."

Some students believe the article also included fictitious quotes, like this one from Marjorie De La Cruz: "The government needs to tighten if not close its southern borders to protect its citizens and legal immigrants from the inevitable poverty and diseases these people bring."

In response to this racist attack, members of FIST, MEChA and other campus organizations have formed the ERACISM coalition. The coalition launched a campaign that has collected over 700 signatures from students who feel attacked, harassed and let down by Southwestern College, The Sun newspaper and the school administration.

The administration has responded by sending campus police to harass students in an effort to prevent the distribution of flyers and collection of signatures. It has been trying to sweep the movement under the rug.

Emails mentioning FIST members by name and referring to the group as "just one or two upset students" have circulated among administrators who seem to value their positions more than their students.

On Jan. 27, representatives of the student organizations and their advisors met with the editors and professor in charge of the newspaper in an effort to put the issue to rest.

The following demands were presented to the staff of The Sun: 1) A printed apology from The Sun to the students of Southwestern College; 2) a retraction of the line that begins, "It's time to burn the leeches off of our society ..."; 3) that limitations be set on what the school newspaper can print; 4) that the student coalition's rebuttal be printed without censorship; and 5) that the school newspaper remain free of racist propaganda.

Unfortunately, the meeting ended with Nathaniel Pownell, the writer of the piece, screaming, "I am not a racist. ... I will not apologize for the article, I will never apologize for the article!"

On Jan. 31, The Sun sent a letter to the ERACISM coalition that failed to address any of its demands. Instead it offered free advertising for future events. ERACISM responded with a promise that the struggle is not over.

A campus rally is planned for Feb. 10. ERACISM has received strong support from students and members of the local labor and anti-war community.

FIST stated: "The school administration, the newspaper and the entire city need to understand that this will not be tolerated! Hopefully this action will remind those who need reminding, and teach those who have not learned, that this country was built on the backs of African slave labor and immigrants, that the land was stolen from Indigenous people who inhabited it before the immigrants arrived, and above all that THERE ARE NO BORDERS IN THE WORKERS' STRUGGLE!"

Letters supporting ERACISM's demands to The Sun newspaper and the administration will help in this struggle. Send them to eracismswc@hotmail.net by Feb. 17.

Vela is an organizer of the San Diego FIST chapter.

my cousin is NOT racist, nor was he reffering to the hispanic community ad leeches. leave this be.

he has every right to state his opinions.

thanks.

my cousin is NOT racist, nor was he reffering to the hispanic community ad leeches. leave this be.

he has every right to state his opinions.

thanks.

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nathanielscousin

my cousin is NOT racist, nor was he reffering to the hispanic community ad leeches. leave this be. he has every right to state his opinions.

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Hello Nathaniel's cousin,

If I am reading your cousin's comments correctly as excerpted from the article and copied below, I'd venture a guess that most if not all of the forum participants here agree with his statement.

"Pownell said the line was not a call to burn or harm people, but to cut off the publicly funded benefits that illegal immigrants receive."

We (the forum participants) get called racists for our views against open borders so your cousin is in good company.

I don't believe the article was posted here at ALIPAC to criticize your cousin but to call to light the opposition that one who speaks out against illegal immigration is certain to receive.

Sincerely,
watchman

Quote:

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Originally Posted by nathanielscousin

my cousin is NOT racist, nor was he reffering to the hispanic community ad leeches. leave this be. he has every right to state his opinions.

---

Hello Nathaniel's cousin,

If I am reading your cousin's comments correctly as excerpted from the article and copied below, I'd venture a guess that most if not all of the forum participants here agree with his statement.

"Pownell said the line was not a call to burn or harm people, but to cut off the publicly funded benefits that illegal immigrants receive."

We (the forum participants) get called racists for our views against open borders so your cousin is in good company.

I don't believe the article was posted here at ALIPAC to criticize your cousin but to call to light the opposition that one who speaks out against illegal immigration is certain to receive.

Sincerely,
watchman

Nathanielscousin,

Earlier today I posted that article on your cousin. My reasoning? I am 22 years old, and I find it refreshing that someone my own age has the gumption to take a stand for something. I meant no criticism, in fact I am quite proud of him for what he has done. If you read this, please tell him he can e-mail me at joyl@alipac.us, I would be interested in being kept up to date with what MECHA tries to do to him.

Most sincerely, and apologies if anything seemed insulting

Joy(RedGirl1)

Nathanielscousin,

Earlier today I posted that article on your cousin. My reasoning? I am 22 years old, and I find it refreshing that someone my own age has the gumption to take a stand for something. I meant no criticism, in fact I am quite proud of him for what he has done. If you read this, please tell him he can e-mail me at joyl@alipac.us, I would be interested in being kept up to date with what MECHA tries to do to him.

Most sincerely, and apologies if anything seemed insulting

Joy(RedGirl1)

That FIST article is about a rally on Feb. 10 Wish we had gotten our hands on it earlier. Looks like FIST is real anxious to be in the game with MECHA.

We need to keep these student groups in the spotlight because "I believe the children are the future" :twisted:

WG

That FIST article is about a rally on Feb. 10 Wish we had gotten our hands on it earlier. Looks like FIST is real anxious to be in the game with MECHA.

We need to keep these student groups in the spotlight because "I believe the children are the future" :twisted:

WG

But he does not need people to tell him he is right. He knows he is right. He needs people who will stand with him.

But he does not need people to tell him he is right. He knows he is right. He needs people who will stand with him.

http://madmikey.mu.nu/archives/san_dieg ... awaken.php

http://madmikey.mu.nu/archives/san_dieg ... awaken.php

Nathaniel dosnt need people to stand by him, I should know I recruited him and work 2 offices over. Frankly this is a silly mess from both sides making this a big deal. It shouldnt be.

Nathaniel dosnt need people to stand by him, I should know I recruited him and work 2 offices over. Frankly this is a silly mess from both sides making this a big deal. It shouldnt be.

Quote:

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Frankly this is a silly mess from both sides making this a big deal. It shouldnt be.

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A racist hate group with a charter at a tax payer supported school threatening and harassing students, is a big deal.

Illegal immigration is a big deal.

Quote:

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Frankly this is a silly mess from both sides making this a big deal. It shouldnt be.

---

A racist hate group with a charter at a tax payer supported school threatening and harassing students, is a big deal.

Illegal immigration is a big deal.

Editor in Chief and other guests:

Welcome to the ALIPAC discussion forums. I just realized this forum was unlocked and switched it back to registered users only. You will need to set up an account to use this board. This is a necessary precaution to keep things smooth around here as interest in our site continues to climb. If anyone has any trouble signing up for an account, please write me at WilliamG@alipac.us

New users, feel free to ask questions as I and the other users will be more than happy to help you learn the ropes and the rules.

Kind Regards,

William Gheen
President, ALIPAC

Editor in Chief and other guests:

Welcome to the ALIPAC discussion forums. I just realized this forum was unlocked and switched it back to registered users only. You will need to set up an account to use this board. This is a necessary precaution to keep things smooth around here as interest in our site continues to climb. If anyone has any trouble signing up for an account, please write me at WilliamG@alipac.us

New users, feel free to ask questions as I and the other users will be more than happy to help you learn the ropes and the rules.

Kind Regards,

William Gheen
President, ALIPAC