Evan edited it and sent back this:To the Editor:

The current situation going on with The Justice and the racist remark in the sports section strikes a chord of tremendous dismay.

It is shocking that such a remark could ever appear in the pages of the newspaper. How is it possible that a student at as enlightened a school as Brandeis could make such a comment? How could a columnist ever think it was OK to put that in his article? How could any editor let that comment into the paper? Hell, how is it possible that he didn't on the spot fire anyone who wrote such a thing or anyone who knew about it?

Any editor at The Justice who either saw that comment or who should have seen it, and didn't get furious that such a thing could ever even make it as far as onto a computer screen in the Bowels of Usdan
should resign from The Justice immediately, no questions asked. At a minimum, this means the Sports Editor and Editor In Chief.

Lack of experience is no excuse. If you weren't horrified by the statement, then you shouldn't be on the newspaper.

That said, some perspective as to the history of The Justice may be in order.

Over the years, The Justice has been one of the primary tools towards bettering racial harmony and helping racial minorities feel more comfortable at Brandeis. In the early 1990s, the newspaper's op/ed
section was a primary tool used to urge a boycott of the school bookstore for racial profiling, ultimately leading to a change in management at the store. It also took a strong stand in favor of the multicultural center. And this was in the apathetic early 1990s. Go back more years and see how the newspaper was involved in the shantytown protests, or how the newspaper publicized the death sentence given to a Brandeis alumnae who was one of the leaders of the Grenada revolution.

In the early 90's, we fought hard (admittedly with only some success) to bring a more diverse staff onto the newspaper, and we made a point to cover more issues related to minority students on campus.

Whether or not the current Justice staff has been proactive in encouraging diversity on the newspaper, it would be a mistake to throw out the baby with the bathwater. Only those directly responsible should
resign their positions. Please consider how important The Justice is to every walk of Brandeis life, and how it can be used to heal those wounds it has now inflicted. The newspaper has too much positive history to tear it down.

Any individual who truly cares about the future direction of the newspaper should join it. The newspaper's coverage and tone can best reflect the diversity of the campus only when the entire campus joins its ranks. The colors of the faces at the newspaper can only change if the colors of the faces willing to join the newspaper change.

Don't let the actions of one columnist and the mind-bogglingly irresponsible editors lead to an end to a good institution.

Reuben Kantor '92, Forum Editor, 1990-91
Evan Berland '92, Editor-in-Chief 1990-92