PressEthic

Should an aspiring journalist join a group that hates hate? A New York Times AP article titled “Ann Coulter Cuts University Speech Short” describes the protest and hostility Coulter’s speech prompted at the University of Connecticut. The article quotes a student saying:

''We encourage diverse opinion at UConn, but this is blatant hate speech,'' said Eric Knudsen, a 19-year-old sophomore journalism and social welfare major who heads campus group Students Against Hate.

It struck me that this source is studying journalism, and he’s being quoted by the AP on a specific side of a political issue. Could this hurt his credibility in the future, if he ever wants to be considered an objective journalist?

Who has ever heard of “Students Against Hate,” anyway? What does that even mean? Are other students, by default, for hate? And, since when is having a controversial opinion synonymous with hate? Ann Coulter is fun to listen to -- entertaining, if nothing else. It’s quite a stretch to equate her crudeness and frankness with hate.

Everyone’s entitled to an opinion. If the University of Connecticut students weren’t prepared to hear Coulter’s opinions, they shouldn’t have paid her to share them.