Mail Bag Exercise of Editorial Discretion By Iraj Taher Dear T.O.P. Editors: Let me start by stating that: far be it from me to tell you fellow students how to do your jobs as editors of our stu- dent paper. In fact, maybe you can enlighten me as to how you do your job as editors of our student paper. As Ms. Billau has been credited with proofreading, surely that’s not what occupies your time. It is equally obvious that your office manager, accountant, advertising manager, photographer, web editor, and other personnel listed in the credits section of the paper (on page 2), relieve you from those other tasks as well. Therefore, the question remains: what is it that you edit? Surely one of the seven people listed as editor (with the exception of Sports and Web Editors) should be in charge of exercising editorial discretion over the articles and columns that appear in the paper. How do you go about the task of editing, particularly deciding which arti- cle is suitable for publication and which is not? It goes without saying that you do not deem all articles fit for publication. I am certain that you weed out articles which are far too long, far too complex, sexist, racist, ageist, too sexually charged, inciting violence, and so on. So, not all articles make it to the paper, and as well they should not, because, lest we forget, no freedom is absolute and there are ever-present boundaries for the exercise of all freedoms. In its most general terms, one is free to do as one wishes, insofar as the exercise of that freedom does not cause harm to others, and sometimes even to oneself. Perhaps one of your editorial tasks, maybe even the most important one, is to allow the widest latitude of free- dom of expression and freedom of press, while making sure the exercise of those freedoms do not interfere with other freedoms, and that they will not cause any harm to others. Not knowing exactly what it is you fellows do as editors (if anything), the previous statements seem to be the minimum logical (if not legal) requirements of your jobs. You (particularly the Managing Editor, Ms. Evans) are ultimately responsible to explain and, if need be, defend your decision as to how a given article or column found its way to our paper. Please, let’s not forget that students like me are not only your readers, but also the owners of the paper and your employers (lest we forget who ulti- mately foots the bill, at least partially, each semester for the cost of running the paper). What is it with all this ranting about the responsibilities of an editor, you ask? Well, I just wanted to know how the garbage generated by someone like Mr. McCullough could be sanctioned by the editor in charge and be allowed to be published? Are you people so short of mate- rial that you print anything to fill up space? Are you asleep at the wheel? Do you find yours to be a cushy job without much (if any) supervision that sure beats a “real job?” I do not mean to disrespect any of you, but for heaven's sakes, have you read any of the absolute garbage McCullough excretes on the paper? Take his most recent column, “Right Hook: Election 2004—anyone’s game?” (Issue 3, Volume 29), for example. This person rambles on for 1 and 1/3 pages to write about a subject that does not concern us as students of Douglas College, residents of BC, Canadian citizens, or indeed, as human beings. Don't get me wrong; I wholeheartedly agree with (indeed, advocate) staying abreast of the national and international politics. However, how can you justify the publishing of the one-sided, overly simplistic, extremely biased, mendacious, and arrogant ranting of a student who seems to have been misplaced on the wrong side of the 49th parallel. What was so informative, interesting, intelligent, timely, important, or thoughtful about his ranting and raving about one of the most stupid, murder- ous, arrogant, oppressive, power-hungry, bloody-handed, big-business-loving, right-wing-bimbo presidents of United States? Mr. McCullough seem to have been suffering from one too many “Right Hook” to the head as he writes about 1.5 pages about the president of the US, yet he does not even know who the prime minister of Canada is. He writes: Thus, while Prime Minister Paul Martin is likely to keep Canadians guessing at what point he will “call” an election to ratify his rule, ... (page 6, Para. 1). Originally I thought this is merely a prank perpetrated by the O.P. to “get a rise out of” the sleeping, apathetic stu- dents. However, talking to another fellow student, she assured me that Mr. McCullough “has been at it” for some time now. She promised to bring me one of his pre- vious articles, from last semester, in which he supposedly has a picture of a young guy (perhaps himself) in a T-shirt with the “USA” and flag of the US sprawled on the chest, standing under a US flag, and some fighter jets in the sky. Oh, what a picture! It gets you right here, in the stomach, just before you vomit. Most revolutions, unrests, uprisings, and calls for social changes have started by the students of colleges and uni- versities around the world: from Peru to Guatemala, from Iran to Greece, even from Kent State University in the US to the Tiananmen Square in China. The student publica- tions have always been at the forefront of challenging the status quo and advocating social changes to better the lives of the poor, the women, the children, the hungry, the homeless, the worker, the battered, and in general, the defenseless and the oppressed. Take a good look at your “fine paper” as it stands now, as it has stood for a long time now. What are you accom- plishing? Would it make a difference to anyone if you stopped publishing today? Have you raised any impor- tant questions? Have you espoused a search for any answers to our schools, education, local, national, or international problems? Are we so worry-free now that you spent 1.3 pages (of the total 10 pages dedicated to articles and columns) to the upcoming election in the US, and kissing the ass of a moron such as Bush? Interesting journey, to be sure: from finding far-leftist articles in a student paper to finding ultra-right-wing arti- cles in praise of the US ultra-conservative establishment. Is it that you are intimidated by J.J., the misplaced American citizen (or American-wanna-be), or you just don’t care? I am sorry, what was it you were editing again? I just wanted to issue some words of praise to the OP regarding the wacky political section that’s developed over the last few issues. The cross section of J.J. McCullough’s pro-American rightwing ranting and Macdonald Stainsby’s rage against the machine leftist ballyhoo make for a hilarious read. I don’t know where you scrounged up these two jokers, but keep them writing their stuff Regards, Stephen Miller What’s up with Macdonald Stainsby? The guy’s articles read like the “Coles Notes” of leftist politics. Send him to Singapore for a good caning! Michael Nagel Why does your culture writer Amanda Aikman only cover small unknown local bands? What about the whole Indian music scene in Vancouver? It’s being totally ignored! 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