Ad furthers the discussion about race

Any institution of learning should be a free marketplace of ideas. Unless students are exposed to different points of view, they cannot make independent decisions about which ideas are valuable and which have little merit.\nNo doubt, the editors of the Indiana Daily Student believed they were furthering such a discussion when they decided to run the advertisement by David Horowitz entitled "Ten Reasons Why Reparations for Slavery is a Bad Idea -- and Racist Too." The ad's publication certainly has touched off a debate -- both about the content of the advertisement itself and about the decision to run it.\nWe do not criticize the IDS's decision to publish the advertisement. The IDS is, of course, an independent (and award-winning) newspaper, whose staffers exercise their own judgments. While we might not agree with some of those decisions, we would not try to override them. They are part of the learning process.\nHaving decided to run the advertisement, however, we do believe that the newspaper should have handled this issue differently. In the same edition that the advertisement ran, the newspaper should have provided a forum for one or more writers to point out the flaws in the ad's arguments.\nThat might be somewhat unusual, but this is an unusual case. Mr. Horowitz has tried to have his advertisement published in campus newspapers nationwide. Some have run it; some have rejected it. Other campuses have had similar controversies to our own. As a result, the content of the advertisement was well known before its publication in the IDS. That would have allowed for a more immediate response.\nSeemingly, the ad was designed to create such controversy. It deals with an emotional topic in an aggressively provocative manner. We understand the feelings of students who were deeply offended by the advertisement. They have every right -- indeed, they have a responsibility -- to express their opinions in letters to the newspaper and to demonstrate peacefully in opposition to Mr. Horowitz's views and the decision to publish them. IU has been committed to efforts to recruit and retain a diverse student body, faculty and staff. The University is just as determined to maintain a climate that is respectful to and supportive of all our students.\nWhile we strongly disagree with the content of this advertisement, we hope its publication will lead to a heightened dialogue about, and sensitivity toward, racial issues on our campus. That free and open discussion is essential to the learning process, both for our students and for our society.