Occupy CC 2023

The Society of Professional Journalism—the oldest organization representing journalists in the United States—has a well-known code of ethics .  One of their codes states that journalists should “provide context” by taking “special care not to misrepresent or oversimplify in promoting, previewing, or summarizing a story.”  A second code states that journalists should “support the open and civil exchange of views, even views they find repugnant.” Connecticut College's only student newspaper— The College Voice —has not even pretended to abide by these standards.  In its most recent issue, the editors and staff now admit that they “worked to fuel the information battle of the [ Occupy CC 2023 ] movement.”  They also state that they “had a stake in the outcome of the protests” because they “care about the students being affected by the lack of DIEI resources” (also known as diversity, equity, and inclusion resources—or DEI). What does their “information batt...

The recent activist charade befalling Connecticut College is similar to events seen across many college campuses over the last couple decades. Unfortunately, it is unlikely that this will be the last time my school must suffer through misguided student advocacy. The protests at Connecticut College were sparked on February 27th in response to the resignation of Rodman King, the college’s Dean of Institutional Equity and Inclusion (DIEI).  King resigned because the college’s president, Katherine Bergeron, was planning to attend a fundraiser at a country club known to have discriminated fifty years ago.  For ten days, the lead protesters—a group called Student Voices for Equity—occupied the college’s main administrative building while issuing a list of demands.  The most important of these demands—that President Bergeron resign and that the work of the DIEI receive more funding—were achieved.  Bergeron announced on March 24th that she will leave her positio...