'IDS' letter forum comes too late

In a statement issued by IDS management, the IDS refers to the "reparations" ad as political speech and the opinion of David Horowitz. If one chooses to look at the ad as political speech, then the guidelines the IDS abides by, notably, "The IDS shall be governed by the canons of responsible journalism, such as the avoidance of libel, indecency, undocumented allegations, attacks on personal integrity, and the techniques of harassment and innuendo," have been violated. \nAccording to Brooke Ruivivar, editor in chief of the IDS, when making the careful decision to place this ad, no subject matter experts were referred to in discussion of the validity of the claims made by Horowitz, liberal or conservative. Though the ad is presented as his opinion, many of the allegations that Horowitz makes are undocumented and utterly false. By printing this political statement, the IDS fuels circulation of these fallacies and in my opinion contradicts its own charter (at www.idsnews.com/charter/). \nThe IDS is not legally obligated to check the validity of the claims made by Horowitz. I feel, as a responsible newspaper which is the major source of print news for many of its readers, this was the least that was owed to us. I would also like to address the idea that this ad actually provides the opportunity for enlightened dialogue on the discussion of reparations. In all of the claims to fame that Mr. Horowitz has made, none indicate him to be a historian or academic scholar. \nThough I dare not underestimate his intellect, his ad does not have any literary support for the subject of reparations, but falls closer to the category of hate propaganda. I have to question the motives of the IDS for publishing the ad without offering the opportunity for any opposing sides to respond until almost a week later. This was ill-planned, which unfortunately is an established pattern with the current staff of the IDS. \nIt is great that the IDS took into concern Mr. Horowitz's feelings that academia has become too liberal and wanted to open this topic up to debate. \nHowever, as a chief source for information for a campus that has been scared in the past by racial incidents, it should have been the priority of the IDS to also consider the delicate structure of the campus community when placing the ad and not their fiscal bottom line, or higher circulation rates. According to Brian F. Hartz, "If a newspaper chooses to publish the Horowitz ad, it should do it and not look back -- no apologies or explanations, please, and no second-guessing." The choice of running this ill-informed ad has created an unhealthy atmosphere on campus, not just for students of color, but all students who attend this institution. \nThe choice of running the ad, without offering a timely forum for free dialogue among the circulation must be re-evaluated and apologized for, in order for the campus community to heal from the gaping wound the IDS has chosen to open.