I want to preface that I think The Eagle has gone through a renaissance over the past few years, improving in the quality of articles and the physical layout of the paper. As editor in chief, you have a thankless task coordinating the vast efforts of volunteer staff, production and advertisers, not to mention the complaints from students. Sadly, today I become one of those students with a complaint.
I want to express my sincere disappointment in your paper running Travis' column "Senate Candidates 'scourge of the SG.'" While Travis is generally on target with issues dealing with unionization, the dignity of labor and other "lefty" political causes, I think he seriously missed the boat with this article. This article was nothing less than a blatant attack on individuals who are just trying to make a difference at our great institution. By allowing a columnist to do this, you have turned The Eagle from a source of quality campus news, student reaction to national events and a pretty good place to go for arts advice into a vehicle for personal attacks. Additionally, I think you hurt the credibility of the opinion page of The Eagle and the credibility of Travis' other important columns. The politics of character assassination should not happen at all; more importantly, it should not happen in a campus newspaper.
Secondly, there is a sad effect upon history. The Eagle serves as the best way to capture a moment in time for American University. When I read through the Eagle archives, I have a better understanding of what students were going through at the time those articles were published. Reading about our football team losing to Gallaudet in the 1920s is embarrassing but also interesting. Reading about how our predecessors signed up to defend the world against Nazism in the 1940s helps me reflect on the current crisis we find ourselves in. Of course, reading about the campus protests in the '60s and '70s makes me wonder if President Kerwin was possibly out there. Seventy years from now, who knows what people will make of us based on this article? The individuals in the article may accomplish nothing else in their life but will forever be listed as a scourge, or they may do great things in their lives and be famous, and we come back and he or she was unfairly called a scourge by our campus paper.
I would hope in the future that The Eagle exercises more caution in what they run on their opinion pages. There is no shortage of events to write about in lieu of the attack piece. I would welcome reading a column praising those brave monks in Burma, decrying the Democrats' failure to include legal immigrants in SCHIP or applauding the gorgeous new Mary Graydon Center. All of these would have been appropriate and belong in The Eagle.
P.W. Brusoe Ph.D. candidate, School of Public Affairs
