NINA COSDON, LIZ ANASTASIADIS, & ROHAN ARORA, Editors-in-Chief & Managing Editor—Black Lives Matter, and The Denisonian staff stand with ALL members of our community.
However, more than ever, it’s important to remember that support can’t be half-given.
The Denisonian is a non-partisan news source that amplifies the voices of our students, and it’s also a source of information for the community. The newspaper is entirely student-run and while faculty can give advice, they have no say in what is published in the long run. While we are considered a newspaper, what is important to realize and remember is that we are also a campus organization and we follow Denison’s Code of Student Conduct. It states: “Denison recognizes that diversity of views, cultures, and experiences is critical to its academic mission, and the University embraces the importance of Freedom of Expression and Academic Freedom… The University does not discriminate on the basis of race, religion, national or ethnic origin, sex, gender, gender identity, gender expression, or sexual orientation, age, disability, or any other status protected by law.”
The Denisonian is not a place where hate speech, racism and homophobia will be allowed to thrive and exist. When we say Black Lives Matter, we are making a commitment to treat everyone on our campus equally and fairly, and this includes the intersectionality of people’s identities, such as Black transgender and gender non-conforming students. We will not publish anything that we believe is going to cause harm.
Objectivity in news is of paramount importance, but so is tolerance. At The Denisonian, we are committed to bringing out the best of our campus community and calling on the people who make this campus great to challenge each other to do better. This is just the latest step in that commitment. We remain committed to reporting fair and accurate news and in doing so, hopefully starting some important discussions about issues such as this on campus.
Given the recognition of the Black Lives Matter movement after George Floyd’s murder, we want to address that social media activism is not enough to cause reparations for the harm that has been inflicted on these communities in this country. We want to encourage people to look beyond themselves and realize that this was in no way the beginning, and it isn’t the end of racism in this country. We’re challenging every individual student this — have those uncomfortable conversations. White peers, don’t sit idly by and allow racist comments to be made in your spaces. Actively make environments that are inclusive. Look around and see who you surround yourself with, and question if it’s right for you.
Everyone should be held accountable for their actions and we believe that as student journalists, we make mistakes and also should be held accountable for our mistakes. We are always open for discussion on these topics — so feel free to pitch articles, questions and thoughts to [email protected].