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Article used irresponsible quotes

I was appalled when I read the article "Dailys stolen from campus drop sites," (3/28/96), about newspapers that were taken from Daily drop spots. As editor of a campus newspaper, I can understand how upsetting it is when someone destroys a product that the staff put a lot of work into.

However, the author of the article abused his authority to write a story that violated basic standards of journalism ethics.

First, it was malicious and unethical to print that the people who took the papers "looked like they were members of Alianza."

This was never proved in the article and played on stereotypes about Latino people. If this anonymous person thought that members of Alianza "looked a certain way," that should have alerted the reporter that the source was unreliable because he/she based that opinion on racial stereotypes.

Secondly, the anonymous source could say anything he/she wanted because the reporter gave that person the luxury of not being held accountable for what he/she said. If someone is going to make a claim that indicts a whole ethnic group on campus, the reporter should make sure that person puts his/her name behind it.

When the Daily allows people to take cheap shots at minority student organizations, without facing consequences, it legitamatizes those opinions to other students.

It was irresponsible for the Daily to run that quote in the article or to even speculate who might have been responsible for the thefts without any proof.

That editorial decision will do nothing but fuel racial tension on campus and confirm many students' suspicions that the Daily doesn't give a damn about people of color.

JAHNA BERRY

EDITOR IN CHIEF, BLACK STUDENT MONTHLY