Controversy at Tufts Daily Paper
A recent Leadership Statement published in the Tufts University student newspaper, The Tufts Daily, has upset some Tufts students, especially several members of Students for Justice in Palestine.
The statement, sponsored by the Tufts America Israel Alliance and the Tufts Friends of Israel, declared, “As a student leader at Tufts I support the U.S.-Israel Relationship.” The statement included the names and organizations of the student-leader signatories.
Apparently, this degree of open expression was too much for some members of SJP, who, according to an article in the Daily, have protested against the ad on the basis that the inclusion of student senators as signatories violates a the Senate bylaw forbidding the Senate to advance a political position unless it is previously voted on.
This complaint comes despite the fact that the Statement features a prominent disclaimer, which specifically notes that the signatories do not represent their organizations: “The views expressed are my own and do not represent the positions of my stated leadership role or organization.”
Recently, The Daily published a letter to the editor by a Tufts student, criticizing the paper’s coverage of the controversy. The student cited the paper’s use of biased quotes by the disgruntled SJP member as a staple of any article concerning Israel, pointing to the article about the Leadership Statement as an example of the paper’s M.O.
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