(NAME-MCE) Column in 'Oklahoma Daily' Spurs Discussion of Race

[Anselmo Villanueva]

Column in 'Oklahoma Daily' Spurs Discussion of Race

Students and faculty members at the University of Oklahoma are discussing
racial issues in the wake of a column that ran in The Oklahoma Daily, the
student newspaper, The Oklahoman reported. The column was called "Chicken to
Die For," and described a student's trip to a chicken restaurant and the
student's fear during his late-night visit to a predominantly black part of
Oklahoma City. The student newspaper removed the column from its Web site
and published an editorial apologizing for having published a piece that
"embraced negative stereotypes."

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University of Oklahoma student column spurs race talks

BY JAMES S. TYREE  September 20, 2009

http://newsok.com/ou-student-column-spurs-race-talks/article/3402497

NORMAN — A University of Oklahoma professor said a recent column in the
campus newspaper was filled with racial stereotypes, but she is glad the
student felt open enough, at least at the time, to express his views.


The Oklahoma Daily ran a column Sept. 1 in which Kyle West described his
late-night trip to a chicken joint in northeast Oklahoma City and his fear
of the predominantly black neighborhood. The column was headlined, "Chicken
to die for.”

The column was pulled off the newspaper’s Web site that morning after the
Daily received a flurry of e-mails and calls that expressed anger or
disappointment. The newspaper announced Thursday that it would sponsor a
forum on racial perceptions Friday at the Oklahoma Memorial Union.

Dorscine Spigner-Littles, an associate professor of human relations, said
she received an e-mail that was sent by someone who was angered by the
column.

Spigner-Littles had a different take: She was "mildly amused” by the column,
which she said "displayed ignorance and was peppered with stereotypes,” but
she also said many people at OU and beyond share the same views.

The column, she said, provided a teachable moment and she praised West for
at least trying to step out of his comfort zone.

"If you attack their beliefs, then you steal their voices,” she said.
"They’ll still have the racist or stereotypical beliefs, but they will keep
it to themselves in mixed company and nobody learns anything.”

Editor Jamie Hughes said she talked to West on Sept. 1  and learned the
volunteer writer never meant to be offensive.

Audience members at Friday’s forum urged her and faculty advisor Judy Gibbs
Robinson to add diversity to the short, basic journalism training that new
staff members receive, adding that diversity should go beyond race.

Read more:
http://newsok.com/ou-student-column-spurs-race-talks/article/3402497#ixzz0RkaetVQb

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EDITOR'S COLUMN: Learning from our mistakes
Jamie Hughes/The Daily

Tuesday, September 1, 2009

http://www.oudaily.com/news/2009/sep/01/editors-column-learning-our-mistakes/

First, I would like to sincerely apologize to anyone who was offended by
Tuesday’s column about BoBo’s Chicken, “Chicken to die for.”

I do not believe the author, Kyle West, meant to offend anyone in the OU
community or beyond, but it was nonetheless insensitive.

As editor-in-chief, I want to assure anyone who is reading this column that
West’s views are not those of The Daily nor shared by everyone on the staff.

As a minority journalist, it has been a personal goal of mine to help break
down unfair stereotypes. I am disappointed to say Tuesday’s column embraced
negative stereotypes — exactly the opposite of what journalists should
strive to accomplish. As a result of this step back, the column has been
removed from OUDaily.com.

For those of you still asking yourself how this article was ever allowed to
be published, I will try to answer that as best as possible.

Columns are not articles. They are personal attempts to describe how one
individual feels about a certain issue. Regardless, we edit columns and try
to look for problems and offensive issues like the ones brought up in
Tuesday’s column.

I’m afraid there is no excuse for the column slipping through the cracks,
but that is essentially what happened. The Life & Arts editor should not
have overlooked the potentially offensive subtext, but again, that’s what
happened.

The Daily is a department of Student Media, a division of Student Affairs,
and aims to give OU students hands-on and practical experience in as many
mediums as possible.

With this being said, I hope everyone realizes we are all students and are
all still learning.

And I can assure you we have learned from this mistake, like others, and
have taken it to heart. We will try our hardest, as we always do, to avoid
making any mistakes we have in the past.

I can only hope you, the OU community, will trust us on this promise.

Jamie Hughes is editor-in-chief of The Oklahoma Daily and a journalism
junior.