Staff ed: Journalism, minimizing harm and trauma
December 25, 2022
The Oracle is Hamline’s independent, student-run newspaper. One of our core tenets, to minimize harm, exists for us to hold ourselves accountable for the way our news affects the lives of individual students, and the Hamline community and student body as a whole. Those in our community have expressed that a letter we published has caused them harm. We have decided, as an editorial board, to take it down.
In no way are any of us on this staff or on the Editorial Board experts about journalism or trauma. We are, however, dedicated to actively supporting, platforming and listening to the experiences and voices of members of our community.
We are a student publication that is here to provide a space to elevate the voices of students. Our work is of no value if at any time our publication is participating in furthering harm to members of our community.
Our website acts as a space to widely share information and as a digital archive. We believe that what we publish is a matter of public record that reflects and includes the viewpoints of our community that creates space for having conversations in the open that would otherwise be left in private. We hope these conversations can lead to transparency and accountability. However, our publication will not participate in conversations where a person must defend their lived experience and trauma as topics of discussion or debate.
Pulitzer Center describes minimizing harm as having “compassion and sensitivity for those who may be adversely affected by news coverage.” We will continue to consider and scrutinize our coverage and angles to elevate the stories of members of our community. It is not a publication’s job to challenge or define sensitive experiences or trauma. If and when situations arise where these stories are shared, it is our responsibility to listen to and carry them in the most supportive, respectful, safe and beneficial way for the story’s stakeholders and our readers.
We have learned and experienced from our first day at Hamline, a liberal arts institution, the importance of seeing things from a nuanced perspective. However, trauma and lived experiences are not open for debate.
We also want to take this opportunity to thank the members of our community who continue to read, respond and discuss with us about how our publication affects them. We recognize it is never these members’ job to educate us or anyone else at this institution and we hope to be an area of support, allies and, as Alicia Garza said, co-conspirators in the journey to a more just and equitable institution and society.
James Mannon • Jan 12, 2023 at 7:00 pm
As a progressive myself who thinks that most claims of “cancel culture” are misleading right-wing caricatures of nuanced, complex, and mostly innocuous situations, I am deeply disturbed by the fact that a student newspaper saw fit to silence a professor for daring to question a religious viewpoint. This is not in the tradition of defending the marginalized, this is more in line with the moral panics around CRT, mentions of LGBTQ themes in school library books, and other right-wing tropes pushed by DeSantis, Moms for Liberty, and other such reactionary groups.
Silencing a respectful discussion of a painting (drawn by Muslims to honor Muhammed centuries ago) even when Muslim students were given the ability to opt out is disgraceful. What is arguably worse is attempting to silence a scholar of religion for an accurate analysis of the painting and its cultural context just because it makes the student look bad.
Today it is a Muslim student who claims harm, and there is little reason to doubt or dismiss their emotional anguish. But don’t be surprised when conservative Christian students pull the same stunts over say, Piss Christ or The Holy Virgin Mary or demand the suppression of historical facts that paint their forefathers and mothers in a bad light (as is happening at school board meetings across the country now). What of the Christian demanding that evolution not be taught, the Hindu objecting to the teaching of the caste system or modern caste discrimination, even more conservative Muslim students than the one involved here demanding that Charlie Hebdo not be mentioned or that feminist interpretations of Islamic law be ignored? College is supposed to be a place where religious and political ideologies are questioned, not imposed.
The progressive and feminist commentator Jill Fillipovic wrote an excellent article on this situation.
For once the talk of “cancel culture gone amok” is actually on the mark.
Nathan Rein • Jan 8, 2023 at 10:19 pm
At any point in this controversy, did any of the aggrieved parties describe the nature of the harm or trauma they experienced as a result of the publication of Berkson’s letter?
Just curious.
Alistair Martin • Jan 8, 2023 at 3:33 am
The Hamline controversy shows how the concepts of diversity and tolerance have become turned on their head. Diversity used to mean the creation of a space for dissent and disagreement and tolerance the willingness to live with things that one might find offensive or distasteful. Now, diversity too often describes a space in which dissent and disagreement have to be expunged in the name of “respect” and tolerance requires one to refrain from saying or doing things that might be deemed offensive. It is time we re-grasped both diversity and tolerance in their original sense.
Elly • Jan 8, 2023 at 6:51 pm
Alastair, you might give an author’s credit or quote accurately as the text you offer appears to be a direct lift from a Guardian item by Kenan Malik, titled “An art treasure long cherished by Muslims is deemed offensive. But to whom?”
Vaughn • Jan 8, 2023 at 3:07 am
A reprehensible display of ignorance of real-world concerns by your laughable excuse for a journalism rag. I’m sorry your parents wasted so much money on your tuition. I’d say good luck, but you’re going to need a lot more than that given how delusional you clearly are.
Ken White • Jan 6, 2023 at 6:09 pm
Your position seems to be that not only should religious sectarian values be enforced in the classroom, but religious sectarian values may not be questioned in public — that whether or not they should be enforced in the classroom is not a suitable subject for discussion.
I don’t know what you are, but you’re not journalists.
Bob Villa • Dec 30, 2022 at 2:41 pm
Everyone of you is nothing more than a miserable, woke scold. You represent everything wrong with journalism schools today and are a disgrace to a once proud profession. Enjoy flipping burgers.
Chuck Turchick • Dec 30, 2022 at 12:14 pm
This editorial has caused great trauma to me and thousands of others who believe in free speech. Therefore, you ought to remove it.
Chuck Turchick • Dec 30, 2022 at 12:07 pm
You couldn’t have stated it better: “In no way are any of us on this staff or on the Editorial Board experts about journalism.” In fact, I believe your taking down this letter shows you have a very distorted idea of the real “core tenets” of journalism.
Aaron • Dec 30, 2022 at 9:39 am
Where is the Oracle faculty advisor on this? How can they allow basic journalistic transgressions? Censoring a well-reasoned letter from the chair of the department in question because of blasphemy concerns (baseless to boot)?
Where is the Hamline faculty rising up to defend academic freedom against the administration’s assault?
We need to hear from past Oracle leadership. The students are very poor stewards of an honorable Oracle tradition.
Jamal Khan • Dec 29, 2022 at 2:15 pm
This is truly pathetic.
“Lived experience”?
Your feelz are irrelevant.
M Hirshbrunnen • Dec 29, 2022 at 11:26 am
This is a contemptible statement, shame on you all.
Dan • Dec 29, 2022 at 11:17 am
What about the trauma and lived experience of the fired instructor, whose views you’re not even allowing to be defended? You should all resign, as you clearly lack the ability to practice journalism.
Jon • Dec 29, 2022 at 9:27 pm
1. In the middle of the day, while you could/should be at work, you were here, writing about something with which you have no understanding and not even half the relevant information.
2. It’s seldom wise to criticize those in positions different from your own, as your lack of credibility is quite easy to spot and pull apart.
3. Perhaps you should do something more productive with your time. Surely there are political candidates which align more with your stances with potential to initiate true change. If you are truly angry with the actions of student journalists, perhaps your frustrations are with democracy and freedom of expression. I believe a few candidates offer hardline stances which would shut young people up, something you and your confederates are clearly interested in.
4. It’s really easy to make a drive by comment on a site. It seems clear that you read one of the right-wing stories which permeate the conversation now and felt emboldened. It’s intoxicating to feel righteous. It’s not a sustainable feeling. Find joy and excitement in something that isn’t dependent on ideology or anger.
Hope you find a way to be happy. I’m sorry this incident made you feel so hurt.
Doug • Jan 8, 2023 at 9:16 am
Yes, everyone is outraged about this because they read about it in the deeply right-wing… New York Times. What a joke.
Tim • Jan 8, 2023 at 3:06 pm
No, the whole idea is that the administration — and you — have a problem with freedom of expression. And what is that others supposedly know nothing about but you so self-righteously do? As has been demonstrated by scholars, the Islamic art was obviously created by Islamic artists out of veneration, something you and the administration apparently knew nothing about.
Bradley • Dec 29, 2022 at 11:03 am
Pathetic. Gutless. Mealy mouthed. Awful.
James • Dec 29, 2022 at 10:45 am
Please, don’t let journalism die. The focus should be on truth, not on people’s feelings. Sometimes “lived experiences” and trauma must be discussed, scrutinized.
Will your pledge to do no harm extend to those with whom you disagree with or only those you consider marginalized?
Please, grow up. Life is hard
Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn • Dec 29, 2022 at 9:43 am
This letter traumatizes me.
I could tell you why but I should not have to defend my lived experience.
You must rescind it and apologize.
Earl Rothfus • Dec 29, 2022 at 8:26 am
Salman Rushdie was almost murdered because some was aggrieved. The coddling of the students in this case allows for more grievance to seep into the ether and, in this case, is more likely to put that professor in harm’s way Stochastic terrorism is a real thing, and it’s not just a tactic of the Christian right.
Bob Harris • Dec 29, 2022 at 6:40 am
Such a moving and eloquent screed in favor of the hecklers veto. Close up shop. Your existence is harming vulnerable members of the free society community.
JVW • Dec 29, 2022 at 12:33 am
I sincerely hope that nobody who has anything to do with this unsigned editorial ever tries to pursue a career in journalism, unless it is with state media in a country like Russia, China, or North Korea. This editorial, and the paper’s decision to retract a legitimate opinion piece on a controversial matter, is an disgrace to everything that a free and vibrant press ought to stand for.
Gender Desk • Dec 27, 2022 at 7:54 pm
Why is this not signed? Did all 20 of the staff members listed on the 2022-2023 staff page agree to this on Christmas Day?
Jonathan M. Ramlow, Ph.D. • Dec 27, 2022 at 1:47 am
To the Administration of Hamline University and to the Oracle’s Editorial Staff: I find that all I can say about this matter is, “Jesus wept.” I say this to you with respect but also with great sadness. You will learn, I hope, that in your attempts to prevent harm or offense to anyone you will inevitably harm or offend everyone.
Jonathan Ramlow, PhD.
Midland, MI