Nothing much changes at the DI

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

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