Ombudsman

The role of the press, as an old saying goes, is "to comfort the afflicted and afflict the comfortable."\nIf the IDS had practiced that adage more rigorously last week, Kent Harvey and his brothers might not have had to flee the state of Indiana. Instead, the IDS published a photo of the "Wanted Dead" posters that were circulated around campus. The newspaper also printed a column written by Nick Bowton, entitled "Time to get out of here," that encouraged Harvey to "run -- fast and far."\nGranted, Bowton's column was, from a pragmatic perspective, appropriate. And publishing the photo of the wanted poster wasn't libelous or even malicious ' just ethically questionable, as is much of what we read, hear or say on a daily basis.\nBut the sobering reality is that Harvey's life, unfortunately, was and still is in danger. \nAs an avid reader of this newspaper, I have an immense amount of respect for its staff after the events of last week. From top to bottom, the IDS handled several extremely volatile events and issues with poise and professionalism. \nUnfortunately, they don't pay me to be a cheerleader. As this newspaper's ombudsman, I would have liked to see the IDS take a more proactive and positive approach to Harvey's plight. The editorial board could have sent a strong message to the student body by devoting an entire staff editorial to Harvey and why he shouldn't be persecuted, harassed or threatened by his fellow Hoosiers.\nThe Tuesday, Sept. 12, staff editorial offered a glimmer of hope. In the next to last paragraph, the editorial board encouraged its readers to "respect the rights of Kent Harvey, whether we like him or not, whether we believe him or not. We can take care of our business and stay out of his."\nThat's a good start, but there is more to be done.\nIn his Sept. 11, column, Bowton wrote this about Harvey: "Like it or not, he's 'The Kid Who Got Bob Knight Fired.'" OK, so some people are always going to think that about Harvey. But printing it as fact in the newspaper does a great disservice to the student body. It singles out one of our own as an enemy to be reviled, hated, scorned and abused.\nIU students turning against one another is ugly and wrong. Burning University administrators in effigy is one thing; authority figures are typical targets for frustration and hostility. But distributing posters that call for the death of a fellow student -- joke or no joke -- is reprehensible. Furthermore, publicizing such proposed violence in a student newspaper without taking a stand against it only aggravates the situation.\nI'm not so sure that the saying I quoted above is true about the media today. In fact, it probably isn't. Regardless, newspapers such as this one should never fail to categorically condemn hatred or violence of any kind ' especially that which is threatened against someone in its own community.\nYes, encouraging Harvey to leave town may have been sound advice, considering the hostile environment he was in. Whether or not he ever sets foot on this campus in the future, we should at least recognize the ugliness and hatred that occurred last week and make a promise to ourselves and Kent Harvey that it will never happen here again.