Opinions

Editorial:
Sensitivity above censorship

The Argus, in keeping with the integrity of responsible journalism, must remain neutral in regard to news issues, despite the individual opinions
of its editorial staff. By expressing this neutrality, we do not always print the opinions of the majority. We understand that people were offended
by some responses that James Burke '03 elicited in the Friday, Sept. 26 Weekly Wes Celeb.

In choosing the Wes Celeb, we aim to promote responses of diverse points of view. We cannot choose the words of our Wes Celeb. However, we realize that a campus newspaper must represent the views of the community. Our job is a tricky one, because of the difficulty that exists in maintaining the balance between the freedom of speech and the printing of offensive comments. In hindsight, and in light of the Wespeaks
regarding the Wes Celeb, the Argus regrets printing Burke's quote that refers to President Clinton as a "fag." In retrospect, we apologize for our
poor judgment. There was no legitimate reason for the quote to be in the paper if it offended so many people; it could have easily been edited
out.

The Argus does not endorse the views of Burke. It is not our job to change the words of our Wes Celebs as to appease student opinions.
However, when we chose him as the Wes Celeb, we adopted some responsibility for his views that would appear in our paper. While we do not feel it was essentially wrong to print the opinion of one student, we admit we could have used more discretion in editing this Wes Celeb. While we do not endorse censorship, we do endorse sensitivity.