GotZoom
Senior Member
The Heights, a bi-weekly student newspaper at Boston College, is now having to defend itself over a controversial headline it published on Sept. 12. It read: "[Resident Directors] resign following drug bust" and led to claims of racial discrimination by a minority student group. Some members of the group even set fire to several copies of the newspaper in protest.
Though the three black Resident Directors whom campus police caught smoking marijuana were not subject to a "drug bust," the terminology certainly is no indication of insensitivity, let alone racism, against the black minority on campus.
The headline is misleading, however, as drug busts typically involve a large-scale, coordinated anti-drug dealing effort by police. This was not the case. Rather, the three Resident Directors were caught smoking marijuana amongst themselves in one of BC's residence halls. The writer did not indicate the race of these Resident Directors, though a picture of each was published on page 1.
The campus minority group claims the term "drug bust" would not have been used had the Resident Directors been white, but no reasonable evidence suggests that this was the case. The newspaper was simply inducing sensationalism into its headline and published a page 1 apology in the next issue for misleading its readers.
Even the sub-headline reads: "[Boston College Police Dept.] apprehends RDs for smoking marijuana," which also has no inclination towards racism, and even clarifies what was meant by "drug bust."
Though Resident Directors should be enforcing rules against using illegal substances rather than abusing them, the newspaper's front-page headline was nonetheless inappropriate.
In its apology, the editorial board said: "Our headline was misleading, and given the context in which many use the term 'drug bust,' it was inaccurate.
"When the headline was written, it was meant to suggest that three RDs were found 'busted' with drugs. It was instead taken to imply that some sort of elaborate SWAT maneuver took place and that these RDs were caught dealing drugs.
"The Heights apologizes for the context in which the headline was taken and the pain that the mistake inflicted on the BC community."
A more serious consideration of the headline before it was published might have prevented the controversy from arising, and The Heights should have reflected a more accurate interpretation of the situation in its headline, even though it was not motivated by racism.
http://www.dailyfreepress.com/media...pinion/Misleading.Sensationalism-989735.shtml
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I'm telling you, I'm waiting for the day with the phrase Black & White, in regards to TVs, photographs, Xerox copies, etc, will no longer be part of today's language.
"Non-Color" TVs, photographs, copies, etc will be the cause de jour.
Though the three black Resident Directors whom campus police caught smoking marijuana were not subject to a "drug bust," the terminology certainly is no indication of insensitivity, let alone racism, against the black minority on campus.
The headline is misleading, however, as drug busts typically involve a large-scale, coordinated anti-drug dealing effort by police. This was not the case. Rather, the three Resident Directors were caught smoking marijuana amongst themselves in one of BC's residence halls. The writer did not indicate the race of these Resident Directors, though a picture of each was published on page 1.
The campus minority group claims the term "drug bust" would not have been used had the Resident Directors been white, but no reasonable evidence suggests that this was the case. The newspaper was simply inducing sensationalism into its headline and published a page 1 apology in the next issue for misleading its readers.
Even the sub-headline reads: "[Boston College Police Dept.] apprehends RDs for smoking marijuana," which also has no inclination towards racism, and even clarifies what was meant by "drug bust."
Though Resident Directors should be enforcing rules against using illegal substances rather than abusing them, the newspaper's front-page headline was nonetheless inappropriate.
In its apology, the editorial board said: "Our headline was misleading, and given the context in which many use the term 'drug bust,' it was inaccurate.
"When the headline was written, it was meant to suggest that three RDs were found 'busted' with drugs. It was instead taken to imply that some sort of elaborate SWAT maneuver took place and that these RDs were caught dealing drugs.
"The Heights apologizes for the context in which the headline was taken and the pain that the mistake inflicted on the BC community."
A more serious consideration of the headline before it was published might have prevented the controversy from arising, and The Heights should have reflected a more accurate interpretation of the situation in its headline, even though it was not motivated by racism.
http://www.dailyfreepress.com/media...pinion/Misleading.Sensationalism-989735.shtml
----
I'm telling you, I'm waiting for the day with the phrase Black & White, in regards to TVs, photographs, Xerox copies, etc, will no longer be part of today's language.
"Non-Color" TVs, photographs, copies, etc will be the cause de jour.
:soul:
