City College News

Recently, this publication has been involved in a situation that has become, for myself, a very eye opening experience. It all started when Grant Goebel, the cartoonist for City College News, submitted a comic strip that instantaneously made me think to myself, 'This is going to cause some trouble.'

The first course of action taken was that I personally went to Suado Abdi, the Vice-President of the Muslim Student Association, and informed her that we at CCN had this comic strip and were planning on publishing it. At this time, I gave Ms. Abdi and anybody from MSA an open invitation to come and have a look at it for themselves and to ensure her that the ideas expressed by Mr. Goebel did not reflect the newspaper or the editorial staff.

Ms. Abdi and myself, having just met, parted ways on friendly terms that day. In fact, I have genuinely enjoyed the ensuing conversations that we have had in regards to this matter and feel it has been a true learning experience; two people from very different backgrounds, who have led very different lives, peacefully discussing our personal feelings on a very emotional subject.

Soon after this first conversation though things quickly began to escalate.

Word began to spread about the comic strip, titled 'Yes to Pistachios', and rumors soon swirled about repercussions if it were ever to be published on our website. These repercussions included walkouts, mass de-enrollment at MCTC, and even unconfirmed threats of violence.

Even inside the newsroom, the editors were divided on the subject of whether to run the comic strip or not. John Meier and Margaret Campbell, our managing editor and news editor respectively, felt that Mr. Goebel's piece should not be published. I'm still not exactly sure why not, but it had to do with the quality of the comic strip and the resulting backlash if it were run.

Tara Martinez, the Director of Student Life, organized a meeting between myself, Ms. Abdi, the advisors for MSA and the Somali Student Organization and other members of their groups. The meeting went very well and as the meeting drew to a close I told Ms. Abdi that when we run it, I would encourage her to write a letter stating her case against it being published, in an effort to create a dialogue in the matter.

Ultimately, that was what I was hoping to accomplish by publishing the comic strip, create an honest discussion about a sensitive subject. And all this great discussion and all this learning about different cultures that has been happening here on our campus over the last few weeks would not have taken place if not for Mr. Goebel's comic strip.

On the Wednesday following spring break, MSA organized a town hall forum event to get people's ideas and thought on the subject out in the open. Mr. Goebel, myself, and many other people from around the community voiced our collective opinions and I personally feel that everybody who attended this meeting learned something.

Six editors for City College News and the advisor for the newspaper, Ben Lathrop, held a meeting to discuss if the comic strip would be published. After much debating, we decided to hold the decision to a vote. We were deadlocked. The result was 3-3. So the decision was turned over to the editor-n-chief of the paper, Patrick Anderson.

Mr. Anderson came to the conclusion that we would publish the cartoon on the website.

At this announcement, Mr. Meier and Ms. Campbell informed the rest of the editors that they quit. They would not be a part of a newspaper that would run Mr. Goebel's comic strip. This led Mr. Anderson to another tough decision; run the comic strip and possibly tear apart the newspaper or not run the comic strip and impinge on Mr. Goebel's, and the newspaper's, rights. Mr. Anderson asked me, 'If we didn't run it, would you quit?'

I said, 'No, I'm not going to give up on the newspaper if it makes a decision I do not agree with.'

And with that, Mr. Anderson made the tough decision to not run Mr. Goebel's comic strip.

I feel that as intelligent creatures, people should be allowed to think, feel and experience on their own accord. How words and images affect someone needs to be decided by that person themselves and not left up to the hands of other people. As soon as we, as a society, begin controlling these words and images by selecting what is suitable for mass consumption or what should be stuffed away in a filling drawer and never shown the light of day begins to run along a very close line between free will and thought control.

You, the reader, may have noticed that I never made any reference to the content of the comic strip, I do not attempt to explain it in anyway nor do I give you any idea what it may or may not say.

I did this for a reason.

I want you to realize what you have lost as a result of this comic strip never being published on citycollegenews.com, the ability to make up your own mind. Through the actions of people on this newspaper staff, you, our freethinking readership, will never have the opportunity to decide for yourselves; decide what is right and wrong, what is offensive and what is acceptable, and what you can and can not read.

And that is how censorship happens.

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