This year, we ought to commit to finding new solutions for the lack of communication between student groups. The controversy last week surrounding the comic, "Ethiopian FoodFight," dredged up familiar discussions of ways to improve diversity and facilitate interaction between student organizations and The Cavalier Daily. Our goal now is to learn from this experience, not just recover from it and move on.
Future discussions should include not only the managing board of The Cavalier Daily, but all the student organizations who have, or who ought to have, a stake in improving lines of communication between student organizations and the students for whom they were created.
Last year, The Cavalier Daily and the Black Student Alliance cosponsored a community event at which students and alumni considered the history of race and The Cavalier Daily during the administration of former University President Frank Hereford -- a particularly tumultuous time in the University's history. The event invited reminded everyone of the unique alliance that once existed between minority students and The Cavalier Daily.
This week's silent protest demonstrated to students that such a discussion is critical to preserve the inclusiveness this community should represent. During the controversial tenure of the Hereford Administration, The Cavalier Daily empowered minority groups by providing a free, open forum of ideas and criticism. Certainly, we can do that again.
Thankfully, several other student organizations continue the tradition of open dialogue. The Black Student Alliance has exemplified the strengths of student self-governance by helping organize a public forum within the next few weeks where the community can discuss Cavalier Daily policies, learn more about the editing process, and contribute thoughts and ideas. Most importantly, the forum seeks to provide new solutions.
We are confident that student self-governance will find those solutions to the problems unearthed this past week. At any time during the protest, administrators could have exerted their power and forced one group to concede. Instead, they tried to make sure students had every opportunity to resolve the matter themselves. Rather than ending the protest quickly and cleanly, administrators trusted students to resolve their differences the only way that has ever worked -- through open, honest communication. We hope that students and administrators will continue to work together, not to undermine student self-governance, but to ensure that the entire community takes part in the discussion.
As charged as this last week has been, the resulting conversation has been one worth having. Sometimes it takes a tense moment to dredge important issues to the surface of public discourse, where they can be examined and, hopefully, resolved.
A few of the protestors tried to keep the conversation between The Cavalier Daily and themselves. But as it moves forward, this conversation should include everyone. Putting the division of last week behind us, we hope this issue will be a springboard for better understanding and constructive change.
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