Forum Feedback

Dear Editor:

I was disappointed with the decision by two student newspapers, the Clemson Forum and the Tiger Town Observer, to publish cartoons and articles knowing that many people would find them offensive. Included were cartoons that have made headlines around the world and sparked protests among Muslims for their depiction of Muhammad, something many Muslims consider a sacrilege.

While I wholeheartedly support freedom of the press and the right of student media to operate independently of administrative oversight and censorship, student journalists must understand that with rights come responsibilities, including the responsibility to be respectful of different faiths and beliefs.

One of Clemson’s goals is to strengthen our sense of community and increase diversity. The publication of these cartoons does nothing to further that goal. The Clemson family encompasses many colors, nationalities and religions, and each of us contributes in a unique way to making Clemson a better university. I regret that the publication of these images may cause hurt to any student, faculty member, or staff member.

Sincerely,

James F. Barker President

Editors,

As a college professor and writer of fiction I applaud you for having the spine (and the respect for American freedom of the press) to print the Danish cartoons. When the fatwah was issued against The Satanic Verses, many American writers gave public readings from that “banned” text. I was one. We were threatened with bombs, with snipers, but we read from the book, aloud, in public and we stood in support of a fellow artist, whether we were Muslims, atheists, fans of Rushdie or just lovers of literature. How times have changed. Now artists and administrators fear offending despots, bigots, and zealouts. So long as folks like you do what’s right, the country will be in good shape.

Congratulations on having the journalistic integrity to print the cartoons that have caused so much uproar. Everyone needs to see these to see how crazy these Muslim activists are. They are CARTOONS … not at all depicting to be accurate, faithful portrayals of Mohammed. If no pictures are printed of him, how do we know this is what he looks like anyway??

These people are no more Muslim than the abortion clinic bombers are Christian (and I am a very conservative Christian, by the way). The Islamic idiots who are fomenting these riots should be called out for the hypocrites they are.

Thanks for not giving in to the fear they seek to perpetuate. Good job

Scott Moore

Clemson ’91, PoSc

Hi Editors et al.,

I hear you reprinted the controversial Muslim cartoons. Way to go! This issue epitomizes the clash between two worlds, i.e., “Free” and “Repressed” Worlds … DON’T APOLOGIZE FOR ANYTHING! I am totally sick of this polite “politically correct” personna we are expected to portray! Stir the pot! Complacency breeds couch potatoes! Controversy breeds movers and shakers!

Kate MacDonald (an American who can trace her ancestry back to the American Revolution)

Dear Ladies and Gentlemen,

Just a quick note to say, BRAVO! I’m sure it was a tough and well thought out decision to reprint the cartoons of Muhammad.

It appears that at least somewhere in this country young people are aware of just how precious and sacred their right to a “Free Press” is and exercising that right even in the face of adversity is the only way to truly maintain it.

Both of my sons attended USC in Columbia and married girls from Clemson (football season around here makes for some interesting family dynamics). My grandchildren WILL attend Clemson University!!

GO TIGERS!! Laurence P. Smith

On the Hamas article…

I find it hard to swallow some of this article.

Hamas may be a violent opposition group– but is it so hard to believe that most of the violence sparks not from islamic fundamentalist ideas, but rather from the oppression that these people have experienced? It’s in fact a pivotal flaw to label the Palistianians and their Hamas leaders as purely “islamic fundamentalists” not only does this advance the conservitive outlook on the topic at hand, but it also is a label that’s been perpetuated by the dull mass media, as well as it’s mostly conservitive counterparts. The conservitives, rulers, et cetera, do not want to hear the Palistianians struggle labeled as one of anti-oppression and class warfare: as those seem a more legitamate type of fight to pursue than one of “islamic extremism” and “religious extremism”. We must come to terms that these peoples have been painted as terrorists, as religios fanatics, etc– mostly to accelerate, and more importantly to legitimize, the Isreal/United States policy.

Justin