Dear Editor,
I was disappointed with the news article “Riots in Ferguson Cause Unrest” in the last [Dec. 5, 2014] issue. It was unfortunately biased. The title starts out the piece with a questionable cause and effect relationship. Doesn’t unrest cause riots? I think it’s safe to assume that the unrest was there long before the riots. Or better yet, we need not try to mention any solid cause and effect relationship. A much better title could have been chosen.
Regardless, as the article continues it severely undermines the voice of the protesters. Calling the shooting of Mike Brown a “not so ordinary incident” expresses bias because a major aspect of the controversy surrounding this case is that it is believed that this is not a rare occurrence. Then, it is implied that all the protests were violent and the article fails to truly explain why the protests even occur upon first mentioning them. Then the account of the event, although it is mentioned as being debatable, is given from the final court decision, ignoring the voice of the protesters and their slogan “Hands up don’t shoot.” While you can say the evidence seems to support the side given — it is important to explain why the protesters are protesting by representing their point of view especially as they responded before the court case and release of evidence.
Towards the end of the article the questions surrounding racism are finally brought to attention, but with some false conclusions. After the paragraph of quotes from President Obama about the “legacy of racial discrimination” it is said “these statements reflect the facts that Ferguson County consists of predominantly black communities”. The quotes used do not reflect that at all. Other assumptions are made that had just as little obvious correlation.
Overall the article was a disservice to the Houghton community. Many of the students here have not been following the Ferguson case or any others, and it is difficult for them to understand the complexity of Ferguson through this article. Some fine tuning could make this article much more informative.
Thank You,
Emma Brittain
Class of 2016
