Letters to the Chronicle

Barbara Love article 'biased' says alumnus

I am surprised that last week's article on [Education professor] Barbara Love ("Love explores racism, healing at UN conference in South Africa") made it into The Campus Chronicle as a news article, because it is nothing more than a one-sided expression of Love's extreme view on the UN racism conference and the Sept. 11 attacks.

The article quotes at length Love's criticism of the United States for leaving the UN conference, but it pays scant attention to the U.S. government's views (shared by many people based on strong evidence) that the conference was simply a forum for the world's anti-Semitic autocrats to condemn Israel, a U.S. ally. Even worse, the article quotes - unchallenged and without any contrary opinions - Love's belief that the U.S. decision to leave the conference somehow caused the Sept. 11 attacks. While I think Love's arguments on this matter is patently absurd (and offensive), I acknowledge that she is entitled to her opinion. But in giving Love access to the Chronicle's pages to air these views unchallenged, you have printed a completely biased article that should instead have been an editorial written by Love.

This is hardly the mark of the professional journalists who publish the Chronicle. Our university deserves better.

R. EDWARD PRICE
Class of 1991,
Washington, D.C.

Editor's reply:

The intent of the article was to highlight professor Love's role in a major international event. Although some may disagree with her perspectives, she is entitled to her views, as Mr. Price correctly notes. One of the Chronicle's roles is to promote discussion and debate of ideas, even those some may consider out of step with popular opinion. We trust our readers, as members of a learned community, to respect differing opinions and make their own judgments on such issues.