IT'S STRANGE to think that these words are likely the last of mine to ever appear on The Cavalier Daily's Opinion pages. Over the past three years, I have penned dozens of columns and more than 100 lead editorials. Beyond the bylines and relationships, however, what I treasure most about my experiences are the insights they gave me into the University and, specifically, The Cavalier Daily's role in that milieu. Rather than acknowledge important individuals, which I can do privately, I want my final musings to acknowledge some important truths which are too rarely stated publicly.
I have had the privilege of seeing the University through two sides of a mirror: serving on Student Council as a member and chair of the Religious Affairs Committee and serving on The Cavalier Daily as associate Opinion editor and executive editor. A common thread that ran through my dual lives was that of misperception.
Many people consider Council inept, where in fact it is a body of well-intentioned students constrained by a cripplingly cumbersome system. Similarly, many people consider The Cavalier Daily unprofessional or racist, where in fact I have never met a more professional, mature and considerate group of individuals in my life.
Yet here's the rub -- neither of those characterizations are illegitimate, because people are judging based on the information available to them. Council has few well-known substantive accomplishments to its name. If you enter The Cavalier Daily's offices, there aren't many black faces. So, the stereotypes roll on, year after year, like an inexorable avalanche: Council is worthless; The Cavalier Daily is bigoted.
The most powerful moment in my term as executive editor came when I was sitting in a room with members of the Black Student Alliance while they aired their grievances following the publication of a comic many people deemed offensive. It was then that I realized, incontrovertibly, that there were people at my University who thought my colleagues and I were racist. There were people who thought the students I worked with every day, the students I hung out with and partied with, were racists. My initial reaction was one of utter dismissal. The beat after that, I began to question why this impression existed.
Before, during and at the end of my term, The Cavalier Daily had an undeniable race problem, and it is one that I believe will remain stuck in the quicksand barring action. The paper has few minority staff members, especially in the ranks of columnists. So, the idea spreads that The Cavalier Daily is biased against minorities, and every instance of coverage is seen through that lens. Then, when individuals consider working for the paper or applying to be a columnist, they are both told that The Cavalier Daily is biased and they see that the offices are, indeed, fairly monochromatic. As a result, the paper has even fewer minority staff members, and the cycle churns through yet another destructive iteration.
The dialogue started between The Cavalier Daily and the BSAwas a solid beginning, but the tendrils of misperception run far deeper. Most people do not understand how The Cavalier Daily operates on a fundamental level. I dare say most people do not know how News articles are selected or which events don't, by general policy, get coverage. I imagine that most people are unfamiliar with the rigorous editing process for Opinion columns and believe that a column presenting an outspoken, provocative viewpoint represents institutional insensitivity on the part of the paper.
The real issue, then, is not only misperception but also miscommunication. Certainly, in my opinion, the onus for explaining The Cavalier Daily's policies and structures falls to the paper's leadership. I believe it is part of the paper's responsibility as a vehicle for dialogue, and I consider not better resolving that gulf the greatest failure of my term as executive editor. Yet the readers and especially the student leaders who have preconceived notions of what The Cavalier Daily is must also be ready to set aside their assumptions and open their minds. While wary tensions persist, the paper cannot fully serve the community, and the community cannot fully utilize the paper.
My time here was sadly birthed in racial fire with the Daisy Lundy attack, and, if this fall's rash of bias incidents was any indication, I will depart with the blaze burning just as fiercely. I offer this exhortation, then, as my final plea on the subject that has clouded my tenure: Talk.
Progress will be slow -- far too slow for anyone's tastes -- but I am firm in my conviction that every time there is a frank discussion, we win a small victory. Every time a student realizes racism isn't something from the history books but something that happened to his or her suitemate last Tuesday, we win a small victory. Every time someone speaks up when an epithet is thrown around like any other word, we win a small victory. Then, some day, we are going to look up and find that there are no more victories to win.
So keep talking, keep listening, and, if a retiring journalist can have his last druthers, keep reading. It has truly been a pleasure to serve.
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