Dear Board Members,
There is no need to write four letter words in 2 inch block letters as a headline. The editor displayed poor judgment in headlining such vulgarity in our school newspaper. I am not a writer and my vocabulary is limited, but journalists aspire in the skills of communication. Certainly, as an editor and cornerstone of a newspaper, Daily Emerald management should give our journalism students a better role model.
The article was written in support of Colorado State University’s newspaper in the use of profanity when covering excessive force (Tasering) used during a question-and-answer session with Massachusetts Sen. John Kerry on a Florida campus. The purpose of the Emerald’s headline was to show support for college newspapers’ right to use profanity. Yes, college newspapers have the right to use profanity. Nevertheless, our newspaper does not need to lower its standards. If they have any writing skills at all, they should be able to make their point without the use of derogatory four letter words.
Yes, the newspaper is read mainly by students. But students are still metamorphosing into mature adults. I would like to see our young citizens become more cultured in their written and verbal communication. This editorial accepts profanity as everyday conversational terminology. I saw some reactions of parents reading the article while waiting for a campus tour for prospective students. The mother’s face was that of disbelief, her neck straight and tall, with her chin touching her Adam’s Apple. If you don’t think the Oregon Daily Emerald reflects greatly on the university’s reputation, than you need to rethink this out.
A byline at the end of the article stated “Although the Emerald is independent and has no University oversight, it does have a board of directors that could choose to fire our editor for running the headline on this editorial.” The board of directors should exercise that right and demand a higher degree of professionalism from their staff.