As some of you may have noticed, there was no sports column in the Feb. 25 issue of Spectator. I would like to inform you as to why this was, in fact, the case.
One of our columnists, Jelani Johnson, had submitted a column that compared the way in which men speak about sports to the way in which they speak about their pursuits of women. The column attempted to analyze two apparently divergent subjects and harmonize them through a common language—sports jargon. This is not an entirely unreasonable theory and I think many people would agree that this is actually the case for some men.
I would like to state up front that I did not agree with the tone of the column, as it could have been read as if the writer were degrading women in the language and structure of the piece. That said, I personally found nothing in the column particularly worthy of being considered offensive or denigrating toward women. Others, however, disagreed with my assessment, and a number of editors on the paper believed that the column should not be published without revisions. In the end, the decision was made by the managing editor to postpone publication of the column.
The way I handled the situation was probably regrettable, and for that I apologize. I do not, however, apologize for defending the writer’s opinion and the right to publish something that might bring about strong reactions from the public. I believe that the comparison made in the column was one worthy of investigation, and while the aims of the article might not have been conveyed in the best manner possible, they were not presented in a form unsuited for publication in Spectator.
One goal of a newspaper is to provoke discussion on a variety of issues, from news and sporting events to general opinions on artistic performances, politics, and gender studies. I think that the best course of action would have been to make small structural changes to the article and then publish it, with the reaction being left to the Columbia and Morningside communities. If people were personally offended by the work, they would have the right to submit a letter to the editor to be published in the Opinion section denouncing the article and further stimulating discussion on the issue.
The actions of a newspaper should be first and foremost to publish, and not to repress, opinions. The fact that the article may have led to strong reactions from various students and campus groups does not mean that the article was not worthy of publication. In many ways, such reactions give the piece more leverage to draw attention to a slowly dying form of media.
Not everyone agrees with my opinion regarding the article, and I have no problem with that. The reasons offered for the postponement of publication of the column were simply not compelling enough for me, and for that alone I defended my writer’s right to have the work published.
In my three and a half years at Columbia, I have served on Spectator’s associate, deputy, and managing boards. My highest position was as one of the paper’s two sports editors for the 2007 calendar year. During my years, I have witnessed the publication of articles in various sections more vitriolic and offensive than the one held back on Wednesday night. As was made clear to me at the time, however, the current board has the right to dictate the tone of this year’s paper, and I am not in a position to disagree with them. As a result of my actions and beliefs surrounding the publication of the column, I gave notice of my resignation from the deputy board of Spectator effective immediately.
For those of you who think this column is simply my airing Spectator’s dirty laundry out of anger, it is not. The issue that arose on Wednesday was one that I felt strongly about. Given that the column was not published, it seemed appropriate to discuss the circumstances surrounding why as a way to encourage transparency both within and outside the newsroom.
I look forward to continuing my duties as a staff writer and columnist for the Sports section of Spectator, offering my opinion on Columbia, college, and professional sports.
Jonathan August is a Columbia College senior majoring in economics-philosophy. Sports@columbiaspectator.com