Forum
touts First Amendment
Descendents of slaves should not receive
reparations. So said an advertisement that
ran in the On-line Forty-Niner two years
ago. Enough people became upset to protest
the paper’s disrespect.
It is the First Amendment of the Bill of
Rights that allowed the advertisement to
run. In doing so, it created a discussion
amongst students. It created a discussion
amongst the nation. Right or wrong, the
advertisement created a discussion. This
discussion resulted in a back-and-forth
tug of war between the ad, students and
a counter-ad. Through this back and forth,
students were able to make an informed decision
about reparations.
The Forty-Niner would like to create the
same type of discussion with the introduction
of a forum page. The staff is inviting faculty
and students to write an editorial on important
issues affecting our campus.
To kick off the page, the first three topics
have been chosen — but the staff encourages
future topics from readers. First, the Forty-Niner
would like to discuss the recent push by
the California Faculty Association to increase
the number of tenure-track faculty.
These faculty members would have more time
for students, the CFA has argued, and would
have more job security. But, the California
State University system has argued it would
cost too much. The CSU has said full-time,
tenure-track faculty professors cannot be
hired because the Faculty Early Retirement
Program pays professors the same amount
of money for less work.
Next, the Forty-Niner would like to address
campus security. Not much has changed since
Sept. 11 of last year, according to a recent
Forty-Niner article. The University Police
gathers its information from seven different
committees that address safety issues. None
of these committees have identified any
problems. But, with the terrorist threat-o-meter
always fluctuating, should these committees
actively find problems to correct? Or is
this process adequate to keep the campus
safe?
Our third topic deals with the Campus Climate
Committee that monitors the diversity on
campus. After Sept. 11, there has been an
effort to be too politically correct. This
campus is known for its diversity. However,
maybe the university is being too careful
in making sure that no group on campus is
singled out.
How do you feel about these issues? We will
run responses every Thursday, starting Oct.
10. Responses should be 400 to 500 words
with a name and phone number. CFA responses
are due Oct. 8, campus security responses
are due Oct. 15 and climate committee responses
are due Oct. 22.
Please e-mail responses to d49er@csulb.edu.
The Forty-Niner appreciates your help.
—
Michael Watanabe,
Editor in chief
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