2008 Woodie Awards
CU publication incites controversy
DU, community respond to article in student newspaper calling for "war" on Asian students
Daliah Singer
Issue date: 2/26/08 Section: News
A controversial article published in CU-Boulder's Campus Press, an online student newspaper, calling for a "war" on Asian students prompted a meeting of concerned individuals on the DU campus last Friday.
Trisa Bui, president of the DU Asian Student Alliance, and Kenneth Phi, vice president of the group organized, the event as "two concerned indivuals of the Asian community," said Bui.
The meeting was organized to provide a forum for discussion about the article and propose possible solutions. Approximately 30 people, including prominent leaders of the Asian community in Colorado and members of both the DU and CU community attended the event in Daniels College of Business.
No formal resolution was reached after two hours of heated discussion, but numerous attendants stated their desire to send letters to CU and continue to work toward a common solution.
The article, "If it's war the Asians want…It's war they'll get" was written by Max Karson and published in the Feb. 18 issue of Campus Press. Karson wrote that Asians hated whites and called for action to be taken. "…it's time we started hating them back. That's right - no more "tolerance." No more "cultural sensitivity." No more "Mr. Pretend-I'm-Not-Racist." It's time for war," wrote Karson.
According to apologies released by the editors of Campus Press and the Chancellor of the University of Colorado, the article was meant as a satire and social commentary.
In the apology posted on the Campus Press Web site (www.thecampuspress.com), the editors wrote, "Karson's opinion is satire and is a commentary on racism at CU published in our opinion section, not presented as fact or incitement, and not published to intentionally incite controversy."
Chancellor G.P. "Bud" Peterson mirrored this statement. "The column was a poor attempt at social satire laden with offensive references, stereotypes and hateful language," Peterson said.
He added that the column is "protected under the First Amendment" but that the opinions expressed do not reflect those of Campus Press or the CU community as a whole.
Trisa Bui, president of the DU Asian Student Alliance, and Kenneth Phi, vice president of the group organized, the event as "two concerned indivuals of the Asian community," said Bui.
The meeting was organized to provide a forum for discussion about the article and propose possible solutions. Approximately 30 people, including prominent leaders of the Asian community in Colorado and members of both the DU and CU community attended the event in Daniels College of Business.
No formal resolution was reached after two hours of heated discussion, but numerous attendants stated their desire to send letters to CU and continue to work toward a common solution.
The article, "If it's war the Asians want…It's war they'll get" was written by Max Karson and published in the Feb. 18 issue of Campus Press. Karson wrote that Asians hated whites and called for action to be taken. "…it's time we started hating them back. That's right - no more "tolerance." No more "cultural sensitivity." No more "Mr. Pretend-I'm-Not-Racist." It's time for war," wrote Karson.
According to apologies released by the editors of Campus Press and the Chancellor of the University of Colorado, the article was meant as a satire and social commentary.
In the apology posted on the Campus Press Web site (www.thecampuspress.com), the editors wrote, "Karson's opinion is satire and is a commentary on racism at CU published in our opinion section, not presented as fact or incitement, and not published to intentionally incite controversy."
Chancellor G.P. "Bud" Peterson mirrored this statement. "The column was a poor attempt at social satire laden with offensive references, stereotypes and hateful language," Peterson said.
He added that the column is "protected under the First Amendment" but that the opinions expressed do not reflect those of Campus Press or the CU community as a whole.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
Curious George
posted 2/26/08 @ 6:39 AM MST
Whatever Karson's motivations, the article did result in vitriolic responses from readers in the Rocky Mountain News. One especially stands out...
"Posted by JohnFrost on February 21, 2008 at 7:31 a. (Continued…)
David
posted 3/01/08 @ 10:57 PM MST
Alright, I actually went out and read the article in question and I gotta say, this is really heavily sensationalized. I mean, alright, I realize that we're of the mind that this is not satire, but the author clearly didn't actually intend for anyone to go on an actual anti-Asian rampage. (Continued…)
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