CA: Ads spark controversy throughout campus

[greyhound]

www.stanforddaily.com


Ads spark controversy throughout campus


By Vauhini Vara
Staff Writer
Thursday, November 6, 2003
last updated November 6, 2003 3:03 AM

A group of students began circulating an e-mail petition yesterday asking for the recall of Daily Editor in Chief Ramin Setoodeh, after The Daily decided to continue running a series of controversial advertisements from a pro-Israeli group.
The ads, which have run in many college newspapers nationwide, have attracted campus attention over the past two weeks for claims some students say are anti-Palestinian. One ad depicts Israelis lighting candles in remembrance of Sept. 11 victims, under the words, “On September 11, 2001, Israelis mourned in Tel-Aviv.†Next to it is a photo showing Palestinian men and children cheering, beneath the text, “On September 11, 2001, Palestinians celebrated in Lebanon.â€

Each of the ads claim, “There are two sides to every story, but only one truth.â€

“The advertisement suggests that all Palestinians are inhumane and they revel in the shedding of innocent blood,†wrote the group, called the Coalition for Justice, in a letter that members of the Stanford community signed.

The coalition contends that the ad violates The Daily’s advertising policy, which states that the newspaper will refrain from printing any ad that “casts aspersions on individuals or groups on the basis of race, religion, sexual preference, national origin, age, physical disability, or other invidious grounds.â€

But Setoodeh said the ads do not violate The Daily’s policy.

“I don’t think the ads are racist,†he said, pointing out that he himself is Middle Eastern.

Blanket statements?

After meeting with members of the coalition, Setoodeh chose to continue running the ads and wrote an editorial in Tuesday’s Daily explaining the decision.

“It is our duty as a newspaper to base our judgment on facts alone — and what is explicitly presented in an advertisement,†he wrote in the editorial, arguing that “the ads do not make any derogatory blanket statements about the Israeli and Palestinian populations.â€

But according to Mohammed Esam, a mechanical engineering graduate student and president of the Islamic Society of Stanford University, that claim is “not accurate.â€

“The ads are very offensive, very racist,†he said. “They’re trying to demonize a whole population, and to play off the pain of Sept. 11 is unacceptable.â€

The coalition has collected 300 signatures on a previous petition asking The Daily to stop running the ads. According to coalition member Ammar Nayfeh, the number of signatures on the petition to recall Setoodeh was not available as of last night.

The Daily said it would not be possible for the coalition to recall Setoodeh through its petition unless it garnered signatures from a certain number of Daily staffers.

The newspaper’s bylaws state that an editor in chief can be recalled either through a majority vote by the Board of Directors or a written petition signed by at least 20 percent of the previous quarter’s staff, if they feel that the editor in chief has “repeatedly taken action inconsistent with the purposes of the corporation.â€

“This recall has started because they disagree with me, not because I’ve made a decision that is unethical or journalistically wrong,†Setoodeh said.

The coalition disagreed.

“He has failed his community and failed as a leader,†it wrote in the petition.

“I was disappointed that The Daily would print the ads. I had higher expectations for The Daily,†Esam said.

Nationwide controversy

Over the past several months, the series of ads from the One Truth Foundation has stirred controversy at many campus newspapers that have chosen to print them, including, The Daily Northwestern, The Cornell Daily Sun and The Yale Daily News.

The most controversial ad, which The Daily did not print, shows an Israeli Olympic athlete beneath the text, “Israeli schoolchildren’s hero,†and an Islamic terrorist beneath the text, “Palestinian schoolchildren’s hero.â€

The Daily deemed that particular ad unfit for publication because of what it considered to be a lack of factual substantiation for the ad’s claims, Setoodeh said.

The Daily Northwestern chose to run 10 ads from the One Truth Foundation, including the “heroes†ad.

“We consider ourselves a forum for ideas, so we didn’t want to restrict ideas, even one so blatantly one-sided or borderline racist as this one is,†said senior Adam Williams, the newspaper’s editor in chief.

Setoodeh agreed, pointing to a controversial decision made a few years ago by The Washington Post to run an ad claiming that homosexuality can be cured.

“As a newspaper, we provide an open forum for different viewpoints,†he said. “For us to silence one view would be counter to what newspapers stand for.â€

The Coalition for Justice said its goal is not to censor The Daily.

“We are neither against free speech nor freedom of press. We celebrate the rights of people to hold controversial opinions and to express those opinions openly,†it said in a statement. “However, we feel that these advertisements went far beyond controversy and into the realm of unacceptable ignorance, intolerance and hatred.â€

The Cornell Daily Sun, Cornell University’s independent daily newspaper, also decided not to run the “heroes†ad but has been running the ad depicting Sept. 11 reactions.

“Personally, I find the Tel Aviv vs. Lebanon ad kind of offensive as well,†said Nate Brown, editor in chief of the Cornell Daily Sun. “But editorially, I’m not sure that the majority of people would find that to be hate speech, per se.â€

Students at Cornell have not reacted strongly to the ads in the Daily Sun, Brown said.

But last year, newspapers at UC-San Diego, the University of Arizona, the University of Michigan, the University of Chicago and Rutgers University decided to pull some or all of the ads in response to campus outcry.

“We must reconsider running the ads if the University community does not want them,†Michigan Daily Business Manager Jeff Valuck told The Michigan Daily in March.

According to The Daily, representatives from the coalition met with Setoodeh and Daily Business Manager Ezra Callahan on two separate occasions over the past week to argue their case, claiming that the ads are very offensive and should no longer run.

Callahan said that while The Daily’s business staff expected the ads to offend some members of the Stanford community, it originally saw the ads as politically, not racially, motivated.

“It never crossed anyone’s mind on first reading that they were racist,†he said. “It was a bit of a surprise at first when people reacted the way that they did. We were forced to re-examine them on that level and approach it from a way that we hadn’t looked at it before.â€

According to Setoodeh, the ads will run for their scheduled duration of five weeks, ending on Nov. 21.

I'm kinda torn here: on the one hand, this ad does paint all the Palestinians as a bunch of terrorists, which is not true; on the other hand there were celebrations after 9/11, a fact that is most certainly ignored by the media and the Bush administration is pursuit of a "road map of peace". Why don't the Islamic groups just run some pro-Islam, anti Israel ad to give equal time?

 

[Mark Tyson]

Ignorance? Intolerance? Take a trip to the third world and see just how ignorant and intolerant people can get. Seems these guys would rather people remain unaware of just how much visceral hatred there is for the US out there. There were massive celebrations of the terror attacks in Saudi, West Bank and Egypt. Plenty of people support UBL and it serves us well to know where they're coming from, who they are and what they're saying. Some would rather remain in the dark and imagine that everyone in the world is all sweetness and light.

This on the other hand was the scene in Kosovo on September 13:

 

[dustind]

No Americans have ever cheered when people have died who were allies with their enemies, nope never.

Come on now, people cheer when their allies win, or enemies loose. How many Americans want the whole Middle East, Afganistan, etc. to be on big piece of glass?

I have seen countless Americans cheer when innocents in enemy countreis have died. Given there was celebrating in the streets, but our enemies are weaker than us and no big deal. If they were larger, could wipe us out at will, and something we worried about more, guess what many Americans would do? We are all human, on the average no better or worse than others, just on different sides.

 

[Mark Tyson]

I have seen countless Americans cheer when innocents in enemy countries have died.

I haven't. You're saying you've seen American crowds celebrating civilian casualties in Iraq or Afghanistan?

How many Americans want the whole Middle East, Afganistan, etc. to be on big piece of glass?

I don't know any. How many do you know?

If they were larger, could wipe us out at will, and something we worried about more, guess what many Americans would do?

If we were as bad as they say we are, much of the urban centers of the Mideast would indeed be reduced to rubble. If they had the power we had at their disposal, I'm pretty sure it'd be "no beer for you!" and mandatory prayer on Fridays. If we were alive at all, that is.

 

[dustind]

No crowds, but the Middle East is a much smaller issue to Americans than to people living there. It is life and death for them, bigger than all of our political issues combined.

I have heard more than at least twenty.

I am not saying we are as bad as they say we are, we are pretty much equal to them as far as what we would do if the situation was reversed, as far as cheering goes. If they had the power they would kill us for a few screwed up reasons like brainwashing, but also for helping their enemies.

What I am saying is that people are people, and no different than other people. If you were to put the average American in their shoes they would do the same thing. If you take a baby from a terrorist-to-be, and raise him or her in America they will become a full fledged American and just like us. If one of us was taken there and raised by terrorists we would become a terrorist.

Edited for clarity.

 

[westex]

Try editing one more time.

 

[kentucky bucky]

Truth is just like poison to the libs.

 

[TarpleyG]

“The advertisement suggests that all Palestinians are inhumane and they revel in the shedding of innocent blood,â€

If it walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and swims like a duck, it must be a duck. Again, probably an example of a few bad apples ruining it for everyone else but who knows. These folks seem to hate anything not Muslim and are willing to obliterate it. Tolerance isn't in their vocabulary.

GT

 

[twoblink]

<SOME> Palistinians want dead Americans. Does that mean all? Absolutely not. But it is sad (regardless of race) when a group of people calls for the death of another group.

That should be something agreed upon..

 

[Destructo6]

The problem with the ad is that it's true. Large groups of Israelis did mourn while large groups of Palestinians did celebrate over the same event.

Can anyone call the truth racist or prejudicial? If so, black is white and reason is dead.

 

[Don Galt]

I've seen lots of republicans rejoice when innocent iraqis and afghanis die in forums like this one.

Course, they would disagree. According to them there is no such thing as an innocent muslim.

ITs not just the muslims who see this conflict as a jihad, its the christians as well. And they bristle with enthusiasm for total war.

 

[Boats]

I've seen lots of republicans rejoice when innocent iraqis and afghanis die in forums like this one.

Course, they would disagree. According to them there is no such thing as an innocent muslim.

Of course since I disagree, you'd be able to provide some links from "forums like this one," to prove what I think is your baseless accusation?

 

[Mark Tyson]

I'm sure there are ignorant Americans out there who do celebrate the deaths of innocent Iraqis, Afghans, etc. But I believe they're in the minority. I don't see massive demonstrations burning Iraqi flags the way I see massive anti-American demonstrations in the Middle East, Pakistan, or Greece and Italy for that matter.

 

[NeverAgain26]

What I don't understand is why the offended parties don't run an ad and say something like:

'Yes, it's true Palestinians were caught dancing on 9/11 (and probably a lot of other Muslims danced and were not caught on camera) but this is something we are ashamed of for it was wrong and it is not representative of all of us. We as a group declare that this was a wrong action and these are wrong and inhumane feelings and we apologize for the actions of the people who were so callous as to rejoice when as human beings they should have been grieving. Palestinians are rightly or wrongly upset with America for it's support of Israel, but no amount of upset should ever be an excuse for the actions of these people. We are deeply ashamed and we beg forgiveness of the American people among who we are living."

The simple truth is these people are ashamed and rightly so. Why can't they just admit it? Why do they have to hide behind the argument that to present this truth (and other truths in this ad campaign) is racism? If they are so sensitive, can't they also be sensitive to the fact that the dancing scenes really pissed off anyone who lays claim to being part of the human race? I might add Palestinians were also dancing in the streets in Paterson, NJ as well until cooler heads prevailed.

To be fair, the Palestinians have grievances (real or perceived) which might motivate them to feel a sense of smug satisfaction when the planes hit. But dancing in the streets is beyond the pale and these people who are protesting these ads are ashamed of the truth. Denying that the truth exists is not a good start to becoming a better person.

NA26

 

[TheEgg]

“He has failed his community and failed as a leader,†it wrote in the petition.

[Sarcasm on]
Yes he has failed to prevent an alternative point of view from being expressed. This is, after all, a university and we must not allow non-politically correct sentiments to be heard.
[Sarcasm off]

 

[Don Galt]

I don't see massive demonstrations in my city for gun rights, or any poltiical position, except for the anti-war types.

We express ourselves with letters to the editor, etc. In other cultures, they go into the streets.

Hell, in small towns in mexico they go into the streets because its friday! TGIF!

In most of the threads on this forum, that have covered the war, people have celebrated iraqis getting killed without distinction to whether they were fighters or just bystanders.

 

[Destructo6]

In most of the threads on this forum, that have covered the war, people have celebrated iraqis getting killed without distinction to whether they were fighters or just bystanders.

Show me.

Hell, in small towns in mexico they go into the streets because its friday! TGIF!

Your point being?

 

[rock jock]

“We are neither against free speech nor freedom of press. We celebrate the rights of people to hold controversial opinions and to express those opinions openly,†it said in a statement. “However, we feel that these advertisements went far beyond controversy and into the realm of unacceptable ignorance, intolerance and hatred.â€

Oh, I get it. You support controversial statements as long as you don't find them personally offensive.

 

[rock jock]

I've seen lots of republicans rejoice when innocent iraqis and afghanis die in forums like this one.

In most of the threads on this forum, that have covered the war, people have celebrated iraqis getting killed without distinction to whether they were fighters or just bystanders.

You make statements like that Don, you'd better be ready to defend them. So I would ask you to either reference those specific posts or retract your statements.

 

[Malone LaVeigh]

I suppose if we had been bankrolling the Palistinians in the war with Israel for a generation, no Israelis would have celebrated after 9/11. They're just naturally superior people.

A lot of Arabs, including Palistinians, mourned with the US in public demonstrations after 9/11. I haven't seen any coverage of that since that time. Yet we get reminded of that group of Palistinians that celebrated every time we turn around.