Letters

Editor’s Note:
In the Arts & Entertainment section on Nov. 16, Bruin
editors chose to run a student-drawn turkey with the words
“Free Palestine” inscribed within. The turkey was run
as part of a depiction of the politicization of campus as discussed
in the attached story. Such displays of opinion are inherent in a
newspaper that strives to reflect the community it serves and that
fosters debate on campus. Bruin editors felt, and continue to
believe, that given the context of the story, the image was
relevant.

In response to the Arts & Entertainment feature
“Thank goodness”: Journalism standards dictate
that opinions in newspapers belong in editorials and only in
editorials. On Nov. 16, the Daily Bruin ran a section in Arts &
Entertainment that was to show how students at UCLA celebrate and
view Thanksgiving. Students were asked to draw a turkey and write
something about it. Many students did so and yielded some patriotic
and humorous turkeys. There was one student, though, who decided to
decorate their turkey by writing “Free Palestine” on
it. Now this turkey not only had nothing to do with Thanksgiving
““ which is by the way an American holiday having nothing to
do with Palestine ““ but it also made a political statement
with no opposing view printed, making it seem as if this view was
the sole view of the populous of UCLA. This bird does not embody
the views of all UCLA students. Admittedly it would have been hard
to stop someone from drawing a bird with a political message on it
but it is up to the discretion of the editors to decide what should
print and what should not. This bird should not have gone to print.
It was unprofessional to print the bird where it was printed. I ask
that you print an apology to those people who turn to the Arts
& Entertainment section to read non-political statements and
ask that this error is not repeated again.

Jason Lowe First-year Mechanical
engineering

I am writing to express my frustration at your Arts &
Entertainment editor. The Nov. 16 feature, titled “Thank
goodness,” featured several hand-traced turkeys parading down
Bruin Walk. One of the turkeys prominently featured the phrase
“Free Palestine” across its body, in contrast to the
others, which contained doodles and drawings. Such firebranding, if
permitted by the paper, belongs in Viewpoint, and Viewpoint only.
What, may I ask, does a contentious issue such as peace in the
Middle East have to do with Arts & Entertainment? I am
especially angered since the turkeys appear to be parading down
Bruin Walk, implying that the staff of the Daily Bruin and UCLA as
a community support one side of this dispute over the other. If the
Daily Bruin is to maintain any semblance of impartiality and
objectivity, it must do a better job of reviewing its content.

Michael Mischna Graduate student Earth and space
sciences

I am writing this letter in regard to the Arts &
Entertainment section’s two-page feature, “Thank
goodness.” I was appalled to see that two of the turkeys
chosen conveyed extremely controversial political messages, which
have no place in the Daily Bruin’s Arts and Entertainment
section. The turkey with the “Free Palestine” statement
and the other crying anti-war express strong political views that
should more appropriately be explored in a Viewpoint article.
Simply printing these political statements in Arts &
Entertainment without discussion and support for their arguments,
is illegitimate political propaganda. Students are constantly
bombarded with anti-Israeli sentiment on campus, and biased
statements such as these turkeys make it extremely hard for
students to form educated opinions on the complex situations in the
Middle East. As a member of Bruins for Israel, an organization with
the mission it educate the student body on American-Israeli public
affairs in a documented and honest fashion, I find the fact that
the student body’s media voice would print such unjustified
statements inexcusable. I consider it biased journalism to print
two political turkeys that illustrate similar political sentiments
without an opposing view. Casting politics aside, was not the
intention of this article to print students’ artistic
renditions of turkeys in a light-hearted and celebratory fashion?
Political statements should not be a factor in selecting hand
turkeys for printing in an Arts & Entertainment Thanksgiving
feature. With so many things for which to feel resentment and anger
toward in this politically charged era of history, why not reserve
times of celebration for just that? Celebration! I am not
advocating political apathy. Conversely, I am in support of forming
independent, fact-based political views and most importantly of
being thankful and joyful this Thanksgiving, for it is a time when
our nation’s morale needs it so desperately.

Lisa Bonos First-year Undeclared

It is my understanding that opinion pieces are not allowed to be
printed in sections other than Viewpoint, yet the Daily Bruin has
printed anti-Israeli material in sections outside of Viewpoint in
the past. The most recent of these instances was the turkey hand
with the statement “Free Palestine” in the Arts &
Entertainment section on Nov. 16. Though this statement carries an
obviously controversial opinion, it was printed anyway. The
placement of this piece gives a false impression of student
attitudes ““ and, most importantly, the attitude of the Daily
Bruin. That particular page of the Arts & Entertainment section
was reserved for “turkey hands” which were suppose to
express what Thanksgiving means to students at UCLA. You
don’t have to be a genius to figure out that all but one of
the turkey hands actually had something to do with Thanksgiving.
The turkey hand in question drawn by Tarik Naber, a fourth-year
political science student, is offensive and inappropriate to say
the least. It is unfortunate that the Daily Bruin staff missed this
blatant disregard of its policy by allowing it to print. By
provoking sensitive topics in an inappropriate manner it is
counterproductive for our continuous struggle to educate ourselves
and to promote a peaceful campus environment. The Daily Bruin
should serve as an example to UCLA students of what a healthy,
peaceful and, above all else, fair exchange of opinions should be
like. Unfortunately though, the Daily Bruin fails time and time
again in doing so. It is my hope that one day this will no longer
be the case.

Koby Rehman First-year Undeclared

Once again the Daily Bruin shows its anti-Semitic side. This
time, it does so by allowing an opinionated statement that is
hurtful to the delicate and crumbling Israeli-Palestinian peace
process to be printed in the “Arts and Entertainment”
section of the paper as opposed to the “Viewpoint”
section, which is the only section where opinion pieces should be
allowed published. Printing the words “Free Palestine”
in a non-opinion section makes that statement a policy of the paper
and thereby alienates the already-estranged Israeli and Muslim
minorities on campus. To let such an error slip by the editor
cannot simply be a mistake and therefore must have been
deliberately done by the Daily Bruin. If the Daily Bruin wishes to
maintain a prestigious name and hold a well respected reputation,
it must hold true to its policies by printing opinion pieces in the
appropriate section, remaining a fair and impartial provider of the
news, presenting it in a manner that is not biased or negative to
any person or group. It must also not favor one ethnic group over
another and must not argue in favor of one side of a disagreement
without presenting a grievance by the opposing side.

Gal Sitty Studio City

The content in the Arts & Entertainment center story,
“Thank goodness,” on Nov. 16 was highly unacceptable.
The hand turkey donning the phrase, “Free Palestine”
should not have been printed in that section, nor in the paper at
all. First of all, opinions can only be printed in the Viewpoint
section of the Daily Bruin. All other sections, including the Arts
& Entertainment section, must be based on factual reporting.
The statement “Free Palestine” is an obviously
opinionated statement that had no place in this section.
Furthermore, it is a blatantly anti-Semitic remark concerning a
highly controversial international issue. Placing that image on the
center page of the newspaper in bright colors gave the false
impression that the opinion expressed was that of the Daily Bruin
and of UCLA as a whole. The statement was very strong, negative
and, being so visible, very influential. Saying “Free
Palestine” is not only speaking out against the Jews and the
state of Israel, it is also speaking in favor of continued fighting
in the Middle East. Printing the turkey was very offensive to many
students on campus as well. It probed a sensitive topic among
students in a completely inappropriate manner. Statements like
these appearing out of context in a non-Viewpoint section is only
working against the campaign to promote peace among students at
UCLA. It is also offering a highly biased and hateful statement
without facts to back it up, undermining the efforts to educate
members of the UCLA community so that they can formulate informed
opinions on the topic for themselves.

Shana Dines

This is in response to your Turkey caricatures featured in the
Arts & Entertainment section in the Nov. 16 issue of the paper.
In the past, the Daily Bruin has been an informative newspaper.
However, your turkey representing Palestinians as prisoners was
completely inaccurate and inappropriate. Despite all the efforts to
promote peace in this university, once again you managed to take us
one step back in this process. It is imperative that you understand
you are not merely poking fun at the recent chain of events. You
are playing with a very controversial issue, one that has taken
many innocent lives. Your drawings were not funny, but bitterly sad
and pathetic. Furthermore, student opinions belong in the Viewpoint
section. I hope that after many years of service at the Daily
Bruin, at least one of your staff members would have the common
sense to keep this trash from appearing in our newspaper again.
Keep in mind that you are not just writing for yourselves or the
person who submits a request. Your newspaper circulates to
thousands of students and faculty. This should stop you from
catering to one specific group of people and criticizing others in
the process. The Daily Bruin owes an apology to all the families of
the victims who have suffered from Palestinian terrorism.

Bobby Saedi