Claremont COURIER/Friday, May 5, 2017 8

College journalists navigate political climate, freedom of speech

A
fierce battle is being waged at the
Claremont Colleges over the First
Amendment, and a student publi-
cation is caught in the crossfire.
In the past couple years, students attending the citys
five undergraduate colleges have become increasingly
politically active, with their demonstrations, statements
and demands typically centering on issues of race.
While many students have expressed chagrin at what
they say is a toxic atmosphere at the 5Csmore con-
ducive to whiteness than diversitytheir doings have
been reported faithfully in the two most well known
student-run publications covering the Colleges.
Both The Student Life and The Claremont Independ-
ent are staffed by students dedicated to journalism and
to amplifying the messages coming from campus ac-
tivists.
The Student Life prides itself on having no ideologi-
cal bent. Its reportage is largely neutral, though in edi-
torials and opinions there tends to be a sympathetic tone
toward student activists.
The Claremont Independent also demonstrates some
solid reportage of student activism, but the publication
makes no bones about having a viewpoint. When it
comes to its staffers politics, The Claremont Indepen-
dents slogan says it all: Always right.
This year, Pomona College junior Matthew Reade COURIERphoto/Steven Felschundneff
has served as co-editor of The Claremont Independent, Contributors to the Claremont Independent from left Matthew Reade, Steven Glick, William Gu and Elliot
along with Pomona senior Steven Glick. Mr. Glick Dordick. Mr. Glick is graduating next week, so Mr. Reade will be editor next year. Mr. Dordick and Mr. Gu will
stepped down from his post earlier this week, so Mr. be associate editors.
Reade is now the publications sole editor.
We are, and always have been, a conservative paper fountain labeled Colored onlyin an article called say the methods and language she employed in her
in the sense that we are an alternative to political cor- Students at Claremont Colleges refuse to live with book On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American City
rectness and liberal dogmatism on campus, he said. white people. over-sexualize black women and over-criminalize black
That tent, however, includes just about anyone from A pattern has emerged. The Claremont Independent men.
the center-leftist to the traditional conservative. prints a story, which is then picked up by bloggers and The students had one more demand. Should The
While Mr. Reade says journalistic integrity is im- conservative news outlets ranging from Breitbart to Claremont Independent print the names of the 128 sig-
portant, he also feels the Independent has a mission: to Fox News to The Daily Caller, before becoming dis- natories of the letterwhich were redacted for indi-
save the Claremont Colleges from what they view as cussion pieces in the American press at large. vidual safety in recognition of the violence inflicted on
out-of-control political correctness. Readers on both sides of the ideological spectrum communities of color by various publicationsthey
Last year, CMC students successfully demanded the then comment en masse on the students actions. Some asked the college take legal and disciplinary action. The
resignation of Dean of Students Mary Spellman after posts are sympathetic, but a large number characterize latter, they suggested, might include expulsion from the
she write an email in which she characterized students todays millennial college students as special school.
of color who felt alienated as not fitting the CMC snowflakes who cant handle diverse opinions or com- Threatening to seek the expulsion of our staff from
mold. pany. college for writing hard news stories for a campus news
Last year, Pitzer students cancelled a longstanding When students names and other identifiers are journal is just laughable, Mr. Reade said. Unless they
Reggae concert, while this year other Pitzer students printed, they often find themselves, uncomfortably, have a master plan to invalidate the First Amendment of
in a public mural and public emailurged white girls placed in the public eye. In some cases detractors seek the Constitution that guarantees our right to free speech,
to take out your hoops. Both the concert and the ear- them out through social media, leaving criticism, racist we have no reason to worry.
rings were characterized as cultural appropriation. comments and, in some cases, death threats. Laura Widmer, executive director of the Associated
Pitzer students also found themselves under the mi- Late last month, a number of students connected with Collegiate Press, agrees with him. She says that the stu-
croscope at the start of the year when a young woman the sociology department wrote a letter to Pomona Col- dents who are feeling harassed are facing a harsh real-
made a Facebook post seeking a roommate to join her lege President David Oxtoby demanding the school re- ity of the digital age.
and other students in an off-campus apartment. It read, scind its offer to hire sociologist and author Alice [College students] feel so empowered by social
POC [people of color] only. Hoffman as a visiting professor of sociology. media. They get others who agree with them and they
The Claremont Independent reported the story, ac- They asserted that picking Ms. Goffman over two think, Oh, my gosh, Ive got the best idea in the
companied by an arguably incendiary imagea his- accomplished black candidates proved the college only world, she said. They feel that empowerment and
torical photograph of a black man drinking from a gives lip-service to faculty diversity. Whats more, they FREE SPEECH/continues on the next page
 Claremont COURIER/Friday, May 5, 2017 9

Kathleen Marie Mirante OBITUARIES

Dedicated cardiologist, advocate for social justice
Nearly two years after being diag-
nosed with metastatic cancer, Dr. Kath-
leen M. Mirante died peacefully as she
lived, surrounded by friends, on April
10, 2017. She was 77.
Dr. Mirante was born in Seattle,
Washington on April 8, 1940 to Do-
minic and Frances Drew Mirante, and
attended schools in the Seattle area. By
age 10, Kathleen knew she wanted to
be a physician and with her mothers
help went to the library to determine
what would be required to attain that
goal. After graduating from Bishop
Blanchet High School in Seattle, she re-
ceived a scholarship from the College
of Notre Dame de Namur in Belmont,
California.
After graduation, while at the con-
vent of the Medical Mission Sisters in
Philadelphia, Dr. Mirante knew her
calling was the practice of medicine.
She attended Womens Medical Col-
lege of Pennsylvania, the first medical
school for women in the United States
and now part of Drexel University Col-
lege of Medicine.
After graduation in 1971, she did her
residency at Montefiori Medical Center
in New York and further study in cardi-
ology in San Diego and in San Fran-
cisco. In 1976, Dr. Mirante joined the
Southern California Permanente Med-
ical Group in Fontana as a board-certi-
fied cardiologist.
For 30 years, Dr. Mirante was a car-
ing, dedicated physician and a tireless
advocate for her patients. In 1988 her
efforts in developing the first cardiac
rehabilitation program in Kaisers
Southern California region were recog-
nized when she was awarded the Ray-
mond Kay, MD, Personal Excellence
Award and again in 1998 when the Cal-
ifornia Medical Review recognized the
Fontana Medical Center with an award
for its Cooperative Cardiovascular
Project, chaired by Dr. Mirante.
Dr. Mirantes passions extended be-
yond the practice of medicine. She was
a political activist, a lover of classical
music and dedicated supporter of the
arts.
After her retirement, Dr. Mirante
dedicated her considerable energy to
many progressive causes and would
willingly lend her time and resources to
many organizations in support of the
environment, peace and social justice
for women and all people. After living
in the Claremont area for many years,
she divided her time between her
homes near the shore in Oxnard, Cali-
fornia and on Whidbey Island in Wash-
ington. Kathleens generous spirit and
passion for righting the wrongs of the
world will be missed by all, her loved
ones said.
In addition to her parents, she was
preceded in death by her sister Sheila
Mirante and her brother Timothy Tim
Mirante. She is survived by her sister
Sharon Mirante; her nephew Drew Mi-
rante and his wife Zulma of Seattle;
countless friends, colleagues and pa-
tients all over the world, and her two
beloved Maltese dogs, Nicky and
Lucky.
Donations may be made in Dr. Kath-
leen Mirantes honor to her favorite
charities: Community Environmental
Legal Defense Fund (CELDF) in Mer-
cersburg, Pennsylvania; Medical Mis-
sion Sisters in Philadelphia,
Pennsylvania; Whidbey Camano Land
Trust in Greenbank, Washington; the
Dolores Huerta Foundation in Bakers-
field, California; Red Cloud Indian
School in Pine Ridge, South Dakota;
Notre Dame de Namur University in
Belmont, California; and Blanchet
High School in Seattle, Washington.

FREE SPEECH/from the previous page
entitlement to ask and demand.
Once you put something on social media, however,
or in a mass email, Ms. Widmer says your opinions,
and your identity, are a matter of public record.
If they put things on Facebook... theyve just started
a forum for what theyre asking for, she said.
Ms. Widmer says internet trolling is not the only
issue spurred by the digital age. She believes the con-
trol given to news consumers by the webthe ability
to seek out news sources and forums that support our
preconceived notionshas made many of us unaccus-
tomed to hearing dissenting ideas in a calm manner.
She also says that many young people seem to need
a refresher civics course to understand the First Amend-
ment better.
We want to let the media know that they have to be
held accountable through their journalism and to foster
an environment where diverse ideas can be shared and
heard and valuedwhere we can disagree in a civil
way that promotes conversation, Ms. Widmer said.
Julia Thomas was editor of The Student Life last year
and remains on the staff. She said that student journal-
ists are wrestling with this new landscape. They have
long discussions deciding when to use the names of stu-
dents and do so on a case-by-case basis.
Ms. Thomas said she respects the right of Claremont
Independent staffers to use the powers of free speech
and free press, but has some issues with their coverage.
The way The Claremont Independent reports on
things, the way they kind of warp an angle of the stu-
dent perspective, is unfair, she said, emphasizing that
many of the publications articles fail to deliver infor-
mation within a broader context. The Claremont In-
dependent preys upon any kind of student protest or
students organizing, or directly responds to pieces pub-
lished in The Student Life. They really wait for those
things to happen.
Ms. Thomas, a Scripps College senior, has received
a $30,000 fellowship to study citizen journalism. Be-
ginning in August, shell spend a year traveling through
India, South Africa, Spain and Ecuador, shadowing
journalists to see how they report on citizen perspec-
tives.
As far as the perspective many have on Claremont
Colleges students, Ms. Thomas said she feels that a
generational gap is definitely at play.
Ive been talking with my parents about these is-
sues, she said, adding that many older people feel that
student demands are unreasonable or over the top.
While she examines news coverage across the world,
Mr. Reade will spend another year scrutinizing life at
the Claremont Colleges. He feels that The Claremont
Independent is doing important work, and making a
true impact on the atmosphere at the Colleges.
As hard as it might be to believe, it really is true that
the movement for common sense is winning out on
campus. The more radical the leaders of these anti-free
speech movements become, the more they alienate the
students who even only partially recognize the value of
free speech on campus.
Sarah Torribio
storribio@claremont-courier.com