Submitted by John Walbaum (United States), Dec 9, 2003 at 01:47
Mr. Pipes:
I worked at the Daily Illini from 1984-86 and can testify that, as badly as you have been treated by their columnists, it is nothing new. Although few people are aware of it, U of I has a rabidly left-wing j-school that works hand-in-hand with the cluster of sixties greybeards still pitching their tents in Urbana. "Hate" is, of course, the most popular and vulgar slur. When I was there, it was applied to recruiters from the military, the CIA, Coca-Cola, Chief Illiniwek, and most white males in the general vicinity who weren't shod in Birkenstocks.
As a rule, the columnists at the DI are completely unfettered and encouraged to be incendiary. (The DI is an independent newspaper, so campus speech-code-hypocrisy is not really an appropriate charge.) The editorial board is supposed to be milder (than it was when I was there), though it may have gotten swept up in the fervor of the moment.
The bottom line is that many of these young jerks are nostalgic for the Sixties. They were when I was there, and it's still true nearly 20 years later. They prefer to throw bombs than to engage in civilized argument. Of course, it also has something to do with the fact that their arguments aren't very well-supported either.
There is one other consolation. If I remember correctly, almost no one ever read the columnists or the editorials; sports and cartoons were far more popular.
JTW
Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened for relevance, substance, and tone, and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome, but comments are rejected if scurrilous, off-topic, vulgar, ad hominem, or otherwise viewed as inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the Guidelines for Comments. For informational purposes, we identify countries from which comments are sent.
| Title |
By |
Date |
| Protect Our Nations Ports [53 words] | Steve Duran | Feb 22, 2006 10:27 |
| Mariam Sobh now works for NPR affiliate [893 words] | Anna | Aug 25, 2005 09:08 |
| ↔ You say she was a "member of an Islamist organization" BUT... [110 words] | Frank | Jul 22, 2009 11:48 |
| In regards to the DI "cleaning up its act." [57 words] | Brent | Oct 25, 2004 11:25 |
| other lies the Daily Illini columnist tells [824 words] | Diana Appelbaum | Jan 27, 2004 07:23 |
| Thanks [205 words] | kevin | Dec 31, 2003 00:18 |
| Where'd they take that turn? [323 words] | Tim | Dec 25, 2003 18:50 |
| PC anti-Semitism [18 words] | Octavio Johanson | Dec 19, 2003 08:40 |
| The Scary Truth [642 words] | David Garipoli | Dec 18, 2003 03:09 |
| DI Response to Letter [177 words] | Chad | Dec 14, 2003 16:16 |
| Clash of Civilizations -or- A Battle for the Soul of Islam ? [730 words] | D. Peterson | Dec 11, 2003 18:18 |
| Daily Illini strikes again [63 words] | Greg | Dec 11, 2003 16:58 |
| Letter was printed [40 words] | Jeff Evans | Dec 10, 2003 23:35 |
| Believe it or not.... [171 words] | Mike Spindell | Dec 10, 2003 23:27 |
| Eli wald, Student at U of I [403 words] | Eli Wald | Dec 10, 2003 15:26 |
| DI only hurts itself [84 words] | Brent West | Dec 10, 2003 11:47 |
| Re:Controversy at Foellinger [112 words] | Dan Katcher | Dec 10, 2003 11:29 |
| Multiculturalism [297 words] | Jason Eritano | Dec 10, 2003 07:15 |
| Will D. I. publish it? [616 words] | Student from IL | Dec 9, 2003 15:42 |
| Are we feeling the heat? [36 words] | Yuval Brandstetter | Dec 9, 2003 10:32 |
| Stiff upper lip! [70 words] | Jim Ryan | Dec 9, 2003 10:10 |
| Fuller Theological Seminary Peace Project [248 words] | Chris Chrisman | Dec 9, 2003 09:48 |
| ⇒ Nothing much changes at the DI [237 words] | John Walbaum | Dec 9, 2003 01:47 |
| Hey Mom, I got my name on TV [425 words] | Jonathan Pfeffer | Dec 8, 2003 22:38 |
| I support your comments [23 words] | Shirley | Dec 8, 2003 16:07 |
| Dear Mr. Pipes: [104 words] | Robert Arbetman | Dec 8, 2003 14:50 |