We're on the same team

Dr. Pegelow Kaplan is missing the point.  We are all in this effort together, there is no us versus you in this debate; we are all on the same team when it comes to celebrating and commemorating black history and civil rights.  Our community has spent the past four weeks dedicating countless hours to celebrating the efforts leaders and working to constantly improve.

Dr. Pegelow Kaplan asserts that The Davidsonian’s coverage of the events involving Black History Month was very poor and minimal.  Respectfully, I disagree. The Davidsonian has done its part to cover the events organized by students and staff lending them a “microphone” to deliver their points to the rest of the community.  On January 23^rd, we covered Dr. Bob Zellner’s lecture. The February 6^th article “Exhibit commemorates efforts of civil rights activists abroad” covered the month-long exhibit in the Union Atrium.  On February 13^th, we published a photo and a paragraph (standard coverage of lecture events) on Dr. Angela Davis’ lecture.  Most importantly we ran a half-page calendar advertising ALL of the Black History Month events on January 30^th.  The coverage is a clear demonstration that we are on the same side as the organizers of the Black History Month events; I don’t understand how Dr. Pegelow Kaplan can call this “minimal.”

I can only infer that he assumes that our “minimal coverage” is due to racial bias within our staff.  In reality, this year alone, The Davidsonian has done more to enrich campus discussion on diversity than at any point in its history.  We have pushed our role beyond the printed page to facilitate discussion on Chick-Fil-A and sexual orientation, coeducation at Davidson, drinking culture, and another talkback scheduled on college affordability.  Dr. Pegelow Kaplan references the role race has played in the College’s history, but his example is nearly one hundred years old.  I would hardly claim that race is no longer an issue on our campus, but to draw a parallel to the 1920’s is hyperbole.

Finally, Dr. Pegelow Kaplan’s direct attack about the quality of The Davidsonian is both insulting and counterproductive.  We are always open to constructive criticism, but telling our staff that we have never produced “a strong publication” does not empower us to improve in any way.  If you have constructive advice, our door is always open. 

On a personal note, as Co-Editor in Chiefs the buck stops with Sarah Welty and me. In the meantime, I think you owe our staff an apology.  Our staff is made up of your students—men and women who have dedicated countless hours to producing Davidson’s weekly newspaper. They deserve better.