Opening the mailbag

A number of issues and readers' concerns have recently piqued the interest of the ombudsman, so this week's column will deal with a variety of topics.\nClinton and Shireman: lame ducks\nLess than a week from now, the citizens of the United States, or at least, those who actually vote, will elect a new president.\nBut another election looms on the horizon; one that will determine who will lead the Indiana Daily Student next semester. That's right, the new IDS editor in chief (EIC) will be chosen this week. \nOK, so maybe these two elections can't be compared in terms of scope, but students, staff and faculty should be aware of the fact that they, as IDS readers, can have an impact on which EIC candidate gets the job.\nThe IDS Publications Board, the committee in charge of selecting the new editor, will meet at 1 p.m. Thursday in the Oak Room of the Indiana Memorial Union. The public is encouraged to attend; time permitting, the audience might be able to ask questions about the candidates' goals and qualifications.\nApology Owed to Jewish People\nSome readers took offense to a front-page headline that appeared in the Monday, Oct. 9 edition of the IDS, and rightly so. The headline read, "Yom Kippur offers Jews a new start" and preceded an article that described and discussed Yom Kippur and the other High Holidays of the Jewish faith.\nOne e-mail from a concerned reader said the use of "Jews" in the headline was not politically correct. "It is just like saying Blacks instead of African-Americans," the reader wrote. "It just doesn't seem very professional or polite." \nThe headline was offensive on a subtler level, as well, in that it implied the need for a "new start" for Jewish people. Granted, Yom Kippur means "Day of Atonement," but it's not right to single out a group of people -- Jewish, Muslim, Christian, Hindu or whatever -- and suggest, in a front page headline, that they have an opportunity for a "new start." It implies they have done something wrong or that the rest of us haven't -- which isn't true. The term "Jews" doesn't mitigate the harm, either; if anything, it aggravates. \nReligion, like politics, is one of the touchiest subjects out there, so any news item dealing with issues of faith almost inherently runs the risk of irking someone. But in this case, an apology is in order.\nPeace Sells … But Who's Buying?\nBesides the obvious reference to the Megadeth album of the same name, that expression could apply to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East. The "on again, off again" peace process in that region has been scrutinized and analyzed by news media pundits and spin-doctors across the country.\nBut the IDS was bold enough to print, Oct. 27, two opinion columns on this subject written by people on opposite sides of the Israeli-Palestininian argument. These people, unlike some of the talking heads on television, obviously care very deeply about the conflict in the Middle East and are not arguing simply for the sake of argument. \n"Peace in the Middle East will not happen," by junior Gabriel Lewin, and "Palestinians want oppression to end," by junior Rima Kapitan, were published next to each other, on the same page of that issue. \nUpon reading these articles, one becomes quite cognizant of the fact that their authors are coming from different backgrounds and, as such, are biased and inclined to support one side of the conflict. That's OK -- it's the opinion page, where such speech is welcome. \nIDS readers should be glad their newspaper does not stifle one side or the other in this important debate. A healthy and respectful exchange of ideas is without a doubt the first step in resolving any conflict. Let's hope the IDS continues to facilitate such exchanges.\nA Third Way\nOn a similar note, the "Third Party Forum" that appeared Oct. 24 and this Tuesday in the IDS were a breath of fresh air. \nIndeed, ever since the IDS staff realized the error of its ways during a Listening Tour meeting with the IU Campus Greens, the result has been vastly increased coverage of third parties and guest columns from students involved with these parties that give the College Republicans and Democrats some real competition.\nA previous ombudsman column decried the lack of alternative political voices in the IDS and called for more coverage of third parties. The staff deserves to be commended for answering that call. If doing so has inspired just one person to rethink his or her decision to stay home on Election Day, then it was well worth it.