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My poli-sci professor said 'don't bother with the campus paper, they won't run your op-ed'. He was right. I wrote about the admin's new speech zone policy and they killed it, said it was 'too divisive'.
This was at my state school in Ohio last semester. The policy literally limits protests to a tiny patch of grass behind the library. I had the policy document, quotes from the student handbook, everything. The editor told me it 'could make people feel unsafe'. Not a single factual error, just an opinion they didn't like. So much for the marketplace of ideas. Anyone else have a piece spiked for just questioning a campus rule?
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henrygrant3mo agoTop Commenter
Too divisive" is just code for "we don't like your take.
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alice2423mo ago
Our paper runs those all the time.
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the_dakota1mo ago
Running them all the time doesn't mean they're actually good takes. @henrygrant has a point, half the time "too divisive" is just the editor's way of dodging a real conversation. Our local paper prints both sides of the fence, but they water everything down so hard it's basically meaningless. Alice, your paper might run divisive pieces, but do they actually let the writers go all the way without pulling punches? Seems like most places say they want bold takes until they actually get one.
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