Word: stolle
(lookup in dictionary)
(lookup stats)
Dates: during 1990-1999
Sort By: most recent first
(reverse)
Closer to home, this year's censure of Crimson President Ira E. Stoll bespeaks the same sort of misdirection. True, he offended the entire Crimson staff with a sexually explicit insult. And true, his action was entirely uncalled for and another example of remarkably poor judgement...
...wasn't an apology enough? Wasn't a news story on the front page of The Crimson and the feature page of The Independent enough? An apology to the insulted parties should have sufficed. But somehow things got out of hand. Some editors demanded Stoll's resignation. Others called for his impeachment. Even the letter of censure which resulted was an overreaction to an event which should have been forgotten within a week...
Perhaps America has become too complacent in the 90's. We take our equal rights for granted. Women, accustomed to the the slew of victories accorded them by the feminist movement, are shocked by the mere suggestion of male aggression. If Stoll had been a woman who called three male Crimson editors "pricks," then the moment would have passed without anyone even batting an eye. But reverse the roles, and suddenly a marginally sexual insult becomes the basis for scandal...
...Crimson is to be commended for its efforts to publicly discuss and resolve the censure of its president, Ira E. Stoll. Such openness about internal controversies is extremely rare in the larger world of American journalism. It's refreshing and laudable that the Crimson's staff recognizes all of the significant responsibilities that go along with the significant power media institutions wield...
Further, while I recognize that the matter of Mr. Stoll's continued tenure is for him and the Crimson staff to decide, I must say that in my dealings with him, I have found him to be a thoughtful and open-minded editor and person. I do not think the breach of civility and of institutional leadership he has acknowledged, as serious as it is, should be used to deprive The Crimson and the Harvard community of his services. Lee A. Daniels '71 Joint Fellow The Institute of Politics and the W.E.B. DuBois Center for Afro-American Research