A protest organized by the Brandeis Black Student Organization (BBSO) to postpone Tuesday's regular release of the Justice until Friday began outside of the Justice office in the Shapiro Campus Center at approximately 1 a.m. and continued until around 6 a.m. Tuesday morning.The protesters, some of whom were also Intercultural Center (ICC) members, wanted more time to respond to last issue's racist remark by former sports columnist Dan Passner '06.

"BBSO's issue with the Justice coming out was that we would not be able to get our statement in on time," one of the co-presidents of BBSO Alana Hamlett '06 said.

The Justice Editorial Board eventually complied with the demand to postpone Tuesday's issue until today and allowed BBSO's response to be placed on the front page.

"We were under the impression that if we didn't comply, there would be steps taken by the administration to stop press," Justice Forum Editor Samantha Slater '05 said.

The Justice Editorial Board said they were saddened by the protest.

"It started as just chanting. They were calling for Steve," Arts Editor Sara Tenenbaum '06 said.

Tenenbaum said protesters banged on the windows and walls, screaming taunts and hitting pot lids together. The window banging did not stop until Assistant Dean of Student Life Alwina Bennett intervened at around 2 a.m.

"We had a peaceful protest," Hamlett said. She declined to elaborate further on what occurred.

"They were teasing Steve (editor-in-chief) in very hostile ways," Features Editor Yana Litovsky '05 said. "Any time the door opened there was a torrent of screams."

"I think the hate was what scared me the most out there," Slater said. "The pure hate directed at us was very scary. I was upset that they pinned us all as racists when they don't even know us as individuals. They grouped us together just as they don't like to be grouped."

The Justice Editorial Board said they did not believe the protesters would resort to violence. But editors said they felt somewhat threatened.

"I knew rationally that I would not be hurt," Litovsky said. "Their point was to intimidate us as people, not as a newspaper, and there is no way to do that without threatening your person."

Director of the ICC Suzie Talukdar wrote an e-mail to the ICC expressing pride for the students who protested.

"From my understanding, some BBSO members and concerned students chose to protest because they wanted to stop printing of the Justice so they could include a statement on the next issue's front cover," Talukdar said. "They believed earlier in the day that the paper was not planned to be printed that night, and then found out otherwise later."

"We always told them that they could write their op-ed," Tenenbaum said. "We were just not sure if it could go on the front page."

Litovsky said the placement of editorials on the front page does not comply with typical journalistic standards, leading the Editorial Board to have reservations about placing BBSO's statement on the front page.

Justice Editorial Board members said they had told BBSO they would comply and allow their editorial to be printed on the front page. But when Heyman '06 chose not to comply to BBSO's demand that he resign, Litovsky said BBSO terminated communication with the Justice.

"If they gave us the letter, we would wait until Friday," Litovsky said. "When they found out that Steve was resigning, we gave them the next ten hours (to write the editorial). They were at full capacity to write the editorial that they were protesting for. It was all or nothing for them. They were still waiting for their regularly scheduled meeting."

Hamlett said the Justice Editorial board told BBSO that they could place a statement on the front page on Sunday night.

Hamlett said BBSO would not have been able to write an accurate statement including the opinions of all concerned members by Monday night because BBSO meetings are on Wednesdays.

"We had told them several times that we would not be able to get the statement to them by then," Hamlett said. "We wanted any BBSO members to be able to tell what they had to say within the statement."

While Litovsky said the Justice would wait until Friday to print the newspaper if BBSO chose to write the response for Tuesday's release, Hamlett said the Justice chose to proceed with production without BBSO's statement.

The protest ended around 6:00 a.m.when Senior Vice President of Students and Enrollment Jean Eddy convinced the Justice Editorial Board to postpone publication until Friday.

"Jean Eddy coerced us into not printing. She said that it's the best for the Brandeis community," Associate Editor Igor Pedan '05 said. "She wanted to appease BBSO so that Brandeis' image in supporting diversity doesn't falter. She said that they were the injured party so we should succumb to them."

Members of the Justice Editorial said BBSO is being perceived as the only injured party.

"However hurt any student was (by the racial slur printed in the Justice), I guarantee that the editors on this editorial board are ten times as hurt by their fellow students at the protest," Heyman said.

Each member of the Justice editorial board expressed a sense of sadness, feeling as though their journalistic integrity has been sacrificed. This has caused many of the members of the board to resign.

"I no longer believe that the Justice is a student newspaper," Pedan said.

When the administration can force and choose the members of your board, you are no longer independent. When they can force you not to print, you are no longer independent. The administration has made us violate every single journalistic ideal that we have. This is why I am resigning."

Other editors have chosen to resign for similar reasons, including Litovsky. But Heyman says he had no choice but to resign.

"I was forced to resign," Heyman said. "It was made very clear to me by members of the administration that there would be no more, that the president (of the university) had an expectation that not another Justice would print with me as editor-in-chief and he would take whatever steps necessary to see to that. To preserve a 54-year-old publication - that means more than any one person on the editorial board."

Despite lingering emotions, Hamlett says she has hope for the future."I want to see that there be better ties between the Justice and the ICC in terms or representing students who are in the ICC and in terms of better coverage of events," Hamlett said.