THE MICHIGAN DAILY BOYCOTT OF 2002

Read former Daily columnist David Enders' censored column from February 2003.

Official Boycott Website: DailyBoycott.com

Michigan Daily responses:

10.08 Editor-in-chief Jon Schwartz: "Mutual cooperation is needed to improve Daily"
10.08 News story: "Boycott of newspaper extends to week two"

Following is the text of a statement distributed via e-mail on October 1, 2002, calling for a boycott of the Michigan Daily.

October 1, 2002

ANN ARBOR, MI -- The Michigan Daily has held a reputation for 112 years of
editorial freedom, journalistic integrity, and has earned legitimacy from
the student body at the University of Michigan.  During our tenure at this
prestigious university however, a shift has taken place within the
institution of this renowned publication.  The Michigan Daily has become a
publication that manifests the institutional racism and ignorance that
plague communities of color, and threatens the progress of the campus
community at large.

Most recently, these manifestations have become more blatant and demeaning.
They include:

* The use of the term "Buckwheat" in a racist manner in the Arts section
(9/08/02).
* The misidentification of faculty, administrators, and guest speakers of
color in picture captions.
* A general lack of representation and coverage of minority events,
programs, and issues.
* The frequent misspelling of minority student names.
* The application of stereotypes to manipulate the perception of minorities.

Student leaders from communities of color have brought forth these issues
to the leadership of the Daily, requesting a written commitment to address
these issues.  However, the Daily has been unresponsive to these concerns
and have ignored the requests.

Therefore, leaders, students, and we the undersigned organizations will
participate in a full-scale boycott of the Michigan Daily beginning October
1, 2002.  We will refuse to read, submit letters or viewpoints to, and
respond to reporters' requests for comments from the Michigan Daily.
Furthermore, we implore advertisers to pull all ads from this publication,
and are calling on subscribers to cancel their subscriptions to the paper.
This boycott will continue unabated until the following demands are
satisfactorily met.

We demand:

* The development of minority staff members in order to prepare them for
leadership opportunities within the Michigan Daily.
* The creation of a comfortable and inclusive work environment for students
of color.
An increase in the accuracy in reporting minority issues, including the
identification of people of color in photos and the spelling of the names
of students of color.
* The production of a yearly report published by the Michigan Daily on
student of color affairs and resources.
* The creation of an advisory board to advise the Daily on internal and
external multiethnic affairs.
* The implementation of a strategic and aggressive recruitment plan
targeted at communities of color.
* The assignment of at least one reporter to each community within the
larger minority student community.
* The creation of a special feature within the Arts section to publish
listings and information of multicultural events.
* The creation of a committee paid by the Michigan Daily that would be
responsible for training all writers, photographers, and staff personnel on
cultural sensitivity.
* The creation of a standard in reporting the racial identification of
suspects in crime reporting; this standard must be publicly published
* The commission of a study that examines the depiction and representation
of minorities in the past 5 years; such report must be publicly accessible.

(See current signers)

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