Taking issue with the April Fool's issue

I have a lot of respect for the Daily staff and I recognize how much effort is required to produce a daily newspaper. However, upon reading the April Fools Daily, I was absolutely appalled. I think that much of the content of the paper was completely inappropriate and should never have been printed.

The issue specifically targeted individuals on our campus and unnecessarily ridiculed them. While I expect this type of amateur and inappropriate ridicule from certain publications on campus, I am ashamed that our Daily newspaper would succumb to this temptation. I would ask that in the future, the Daily remembers that these individuals are members of our community and deserve our respect. It is disrespectful to ridicule someone in a publication where he or she does not have the opportunity to defend him or herself.

I would like to clarify that I am not writing this letter in defense of specific individuals. It is important for everyone on campus to feel comfortable enough to step forward and advocate on behalf of issues that are important to them without fearing that they will be targeted and mocked in our community newspaper. And it should go without saying that individuals must be able to be active in our community without fearing that the Daily will explicitly refer to their breasts. I am specifically referring to the letter written to Abby Moffat from Andrew Potts on the Viewpoints page.

The Tufts Daily is a newspaper and April Fools is no excuse to stoop to the lowest common denominator. Some jokes just are not funny. I find it upsetting and embarrassing that a university publication sunk to the level of sex jokes, objectification, and personal mockery to get a laugh.



Sarah Klevan (LA '03)