Dartmouth Review
On the left is the most recent cover of the Dartmouth Review. The headline was not about a group nicknamed "The Natives" (which would've made it clever) but about actual Native Americans. The editor-in-...um...chief said on Saturday the cover was "intended to be a hyperbolic, tongue-in-cheek commentary upon the reactions to events this term by the self-styled leadership of Dartmouth's Native American community." (Ah, so the paper was only mocking some Native Americans, not all of them. Fair play!)
It seems this was deemed an inadequate response to the furor over the cover. The managing and associate editors (with help from a prof) published an apology yesterday titled "The Cover Was a Mistake." And it follows the prototypical non-apology outline:
1. Mistakes were made.
2. Oh come on, is it that bad?
3. I'm not a racist, that's what's so insane about this. (Copyright 2006 Michael Richards)
4. You know, Orwell said...
5. Don't hurt me.
What a perfect way to end what we affectionately call the "Year O' Racism." And a perfect opportunity to ask you to e-mail us (subject: "For Eat the Press") with your favorite what-were-we-thinking student journalism moments from your own long-ago careers in the college trenches. Or from last week, we're not picky.
— Nick Douglas
