Last Thursday saw the reintroduction of The Observer, an independently funded conservative student newspaper that ceased publication on campus in 1998. In addition to covering campus issues, the newspaper offered its take on heated topics, most notably professing anti-abortion, pro-war, and anti-French sentiments.
The cartoon that, in 1998, ended The Observer's publication depicted members of the Ku Klux Klan, a Nazi rally, and a Planned Parenthood clinic, with the caption, "Which one kills more blacks?"
The publication, returning this week with Chris Pizzo, A&S '05, at the helm as editor-in-chief, along with a staff of approximately 35 students, showed the new Observer's potential for generating discussion. Students scrambled for copies of the new conservative voice on campus, leading to varied reactions to its content.
"I think we got the reaction we expected. We have people who love it, people who hate it," said Pizzo. "There is nothing there that would deter us. The majority of what we have gotten back haven't been positive, but that is okay, we expected that."
Students expressed mixed views upon first reading The Observer. Most saw the need for representation of the conservative viewpoint on campus, but some found the coverage offensive.
"I don't mind that they put a conservative voice on this campus, but it just seems so hard to agree with," said Joe Competello, A&S '03.
"It was nice to see something outside the norm," said Robert Daly, CSOM '03. "They weren't watching themselves which I liked; they weren't tiptoeing around the issues. A lot of people use freedom of speech for their own purposes and look at something conservative and say they can't do that. But freedom of speech goes both ways."
Others took a more negative view of the publication."It's a bunch of yellow journalism without much content," said Michael Greco, CSOM '04. "All they're doing is playing devil's advocate."
"They're just using shock and awe," added Jarrod Phipps, CSOM '04.
Spring Break
