Alligator accountability

Tuesday, September 20, 2005

Greetings,
I am writing to clarify some misconceptions. I am not calling for
the resignation of the entire board of the Independent Alligator,
only the editorial board (Mike Gimignani, Eva Kis, and Emily
Yehle) and the art director (Andy Marlette). And I am not calling
for their complete alienation, only that they take responsibility
for their actions. They have done a dangerously unprofessional
job. That the Student Government and faculty senate are resolved
to publicly denounce the alligator is significant. I do not wish
to have Mr. Marlette alienated on campus, only to release control
of his tyranny of insult and for the editorial staff to reflect a
higher standard of professionalism and greater representation of
the student population.

I am not waging my email communication campaign to find an "easy
cause" to get behind. I am doing this because students who have
been injured for a long time have appealed to administrators and
to me, who in turn have appealed to the Alligator staff, but no
one on staff has addressed the issues raised. They have deflected.
I call for the resignations in support of students who are tired
of being persecuted, excluded, and ignored. This is not just about
race, and it is not just Black and White, as I have stated in my
first communication (attached). Whether or not you agree with what
I've written in my letter, you will be hardpressed to deny issues
raised. The privilege and power of your culture and position is
blinding you to your actions. I know my first letter was
long...but read the whole thing again now and perhaps you will
catch some things in a different light. The two staff members who
have written to me have done so defensively, one claimed that
Marlette is not a closet racist, the other asked why Black people
should be allowed to say the n-word and Marlette not. Neither of
you addressed the larger picture. Again, Black popular culture is
not the issue at hand. The entertainers brought to campus for so
long who use the n-word have been brought by SG and student
groups, and Black students who use the word as self-referential,
are doing so for their own reasons, none of which I can condone.
Your points about the waste and questionable spending of SG on
entertainment that may be offensive (surely not all of whom are
Black), are valid and your points will hopefully cause students to
re-evaluate how they spend their money. But those entertainers and
students are not on staff at the Alligator. You are.

The Alligator newspaper, for an appalling amount of time, and Mr.
Marlette for the last three years, has held minority students
("outsiders" by race, gender, religion, and such) hostage. Your
paper contributes to a culture that allows hatred to be seen as
normative. When students have raised their voice in protest, you
have chosen not to hear...and made it worse by accusing them of
being hyper sensitive, ignorant, or having no sense of humor.
Campus outrage and the paper trail of complaints should tell you
the lengths to which you have gone to solidify your position of
entitlement. Shame.

So, please know that I have no interest in being unreasonable or
mean. But your paper does not encourage dialogue, it stifles it.
It seems that you have not been in real dialogue with students who
do not agree with you for some time now; you have operated as if
you are not accountable to anyone. I hope to assist in creating an
environment at UF that allows all students to speak and be heard.
That you seem to delight in snubbing your nose at everyone
(students, staff, and administrators alike), just for the sake of
doing so, demonstrates that YOU are the ones who are knee-jerk
reactors; as if free speech were license for standardized
mediocrity. One reply to my email assured me that because former
Alligator staff are many, none of you will have trouble finding a
job in this state. That is the type of attitude that Michael Brown
had: cronyism.

I look forward to discussing these and other issues of diversity
campus wide. I look forward to the growing dialogue about the
Alligator as students prepare for elections. The art director's
irresponsible actions and the editors' lack of general editorial
responsibility warrant their release from their position on a
newspaper that benefits from Gator affiliation and Gainesville
funding. If the three of the editorial staff and art director do
not resign their position by tomorrow (Wednesday) at 5pm, I will
join students, staff, and faculty who are poised to encourage the
appropriate officials to remove the paper from campus, support the
drive for advertisers to pull their funding, and work with others
to dissuade outlets in Gainesville from carrying your paper.
Perhaps if the Independent Alligator has no interest in being more
representative and community oriented, the SG funds and local
business dollars can be used to begin a paper that will be.

Regards,
Dr. Evans

------
Stephanie Y. Evans, Ph.D.
Assistant Professor,
African American Studies
Center for Women's Studies and Gender Research
3332 Turlington Hall
University of Florida
Box 118120
Gainesville, 32611
352-392-6088 phone
352-294-0007 fax
web page: http://plaza.ufl.edu/drevans

On Tue Sep 20 11:14:10 EDT 2005, Mike Gimignani <mgimignani@alligator.org> wrote:

Dr. Evans,

I am trying to respond in a fair and measured way to your letters (which,
for the record, I only found out about yesterday). However, I go to class
today for several hours, so I won't be able to write anything until
tonight.

I want to let you know that I am trying to respond in a way that can
foster meaningful discussion, as has happened with several others. I would
hope that when you receive my response you read it with an open mind, as I
have read yours.

Sincerely,
Mike Gimignani


Mike Gimignani
Editor
The Independent Florida Alligator
(352) 376-4458 office
(352) 213-6911 cell
(352) 376-4467 fax
mgimignani@alligator.org

Mr. Gimignani,
Indeed. This is fundamentally about fostering fair communication on campus. There is, however, a deadline for your decision to resign (with the two other editors and art director) to avoid a campus and local community BOYCOTT of the Independent Alligator. Tomorrow at 5pm.

I am actually in favor of a student paper that is free from administrative control. But, as Dean Mills has said, with freedom comes responsibility. Please re-read ALL communications from those whom the paper has marginalized during yours and Mr. Marlette's tenure and make a careful decision. The fact that Mr. Marlette does not list his email address on your website tells that he is not willing to hear feedback on his damaging "opinions." This is not about answering to me or any other administrator. This is about answering to the students and the campus and local community as a whole.
Dr. Evans