Submitted by Stephanie L. Crosby, May 2, 2007 16:24

Dear Mr. Leo, I was somewhat amused by your national mention of Tufts' "censorship" actions. However, I fear you have painted our intricate situation with overly broad brush strokes. I am a freshman at Tufts University, and a non-Muslim friend of the Tufts Muslim Students' Association. I attended the hearing on Monday night during which the charges of harrassment and creating a hostile environment were brought against the Primary Source, Tufts' journal of conservative thought. The "Christmas carol" which has brought so much controversy to our campus was titled "O Come, All Ye Black Folk." It was a satire in criticism of Affirmative Action which targeted our African American freshmen as "boisterous, yet desirable" and as earning "F's, D's, and G's." I can see how somebody might find this funny. However, I can also see how steamed my peers might be at being made a laughing stock by a magazine feature that mentions not ONCE its alleged subject (affirmative action). As for the "'terrorism-awareness' article," that was nothing more than a statement that Islam is a radical, violent, barbaric religion. The unsigned page mentioned a few abominable actions taken by a few Muslims, a few verses of the Qu'ran taken conveniently out of context, and made no mention of its subject matter being radical Islam, extremist Islam, or terrorism. The title at the top of the page was "Islam: Arabic translation: Submission." The article was expressly intended to demean or provoke Muslims on campus. I agree that the Primary Source should not be censored by Tufts. And it won't be, I am almost sure of that (though as of yet, the results of the hearing have not been released.) The members of the Primary Source should police themselves. As the only conservative voice on campus, they have a responsibility to clearly and effectively convey their views. "Articles" like the Christmas carol and the Islam article only embarrass the writers on their staff who write real articles. As for the hearing, it was the only way to call the Primary Source into the open. Much of the student body wanted answers as to why they were being targeted as political whipping boys. The Primary Source was invited to several events put on by the Muslim Students Association, but attended none of them. Though we got no answer, at least the question was put out. Why do Tufts conservatives, like their national counterparts, feel so insecure that they need to demean blacks and Muslims in unsigned articles? I hope this clears up any misconceptions.

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