"Technician burning makes wrong point"

"Technician burning makes wrong point"

This somewhat confused letter by Kevin G. Alexander denounces the Brickyard newspaper burning while admitting that he did not actually understand or read the columns that caused students to protest in the first place. Alexander suggests that the right course of action would simply be to ignore inflammatory columns like Crisp's and that by burning the newspapers, African American students were being immature and attention-grabbing.

Kevin J. Alexander

Kevin G. Alexander, "Technician Burning Makes Wrong Point," The Technician vol. LXXIV no. 20 (September 28, 1992), 7.

1992-09-28

Cheryl Dong

newspaper article

Recently, I have heard a controversy that has manifested itself in the burning of copies of Technician in the Brickyard. This has filled me with a great sadness.

I am not even sure of the details of the exchange, but I gather that it was a reaction to an article printed in Technician

I understand the anger people may sometimes experience when they read something they find offensive, but I wonder if the participants on the Brickyard were aware that burning things and chanting does not promote the most positive of changes

If you read someone’s writings and label them a jerk, let them be a Jerk and go on with your life. If you want to fight prejudice, be successful, be intelligent, be honest, be a good person and make as many friends as you can.

Just because someone doesn’t respect your culture or sensitivities doesn’t give you the right to throw a tantrum, especially if you want to be a respected member of society. If you have a voice, you have a brain, you have a vote; the trick is to know which one to use.

To all you protestors: You have our attention, now what will you do with it? Your answer decides how we will view your protest.

newspaper article