Dear Argus,
We at the Traverse Square After-School program are deeply disturbed and offended by the position the Argus took in last Friday’s editorial about the fence between Traverse Square and the Lo-Rise dorms. First and foremost, we are appalled that the Argus would have the nerve to use the name and work of our after-school program to belittle an issue that we have stressed to be of the utmost importance. If the Argus truly had any respect for us as a program it would have acknowledged or at least inquired as to how and why we are passionate about this issue. Our after-school program is not responsible for characterizing or improving the relationship between Wesleyan and the Middletown community as a whole. Our program is but a small exception to the well-established rule of Wesleyan’s disdainful and mistrustful treatment of Middletown and Traverse Square residents. This attitude is not an illusion of our internal “over-sensitivity” to issues of class, race, and power, but is a blatant everyday reality seen in decisions made by all branches of the Wesleyan community—administrators, students, and public safety officials alike. If nothing else, our limited contact with the T-Square community has shown us that the message communicated by these actions is so obvious that even the children we work with have observed and internalized it.
Given this context, in which Traverse Square residents are already unable to venture into Wesleyan without risking confrontation or even arrest for trespassing, and in which it is not unusual for students to call public safety on small children a few feet from their homes, it could be argued that a fence would be little more than visible evidence of an invisible barrier. Nonetheless, there is something very real about seven feet of iron and concrete. By the way, it is actually a fence. (Look at the pictures. A “railing”, Argus, is a horizontal bar held up every few feet by a vertical support. A series of 4-foot vertical bars connected by a railing at the top and bottom may not be chain-link but is nonetheless a fence. We are unsure why the Argus chose to misname this structure but we feel a college newspaper ought to be ashamed of its inability to accurately use language to describe objects.) A simple glance at the enclosure around the Traverse Square “garden” (which would have been the model for the structure) should clarify that it was not simply a “railing” that was proposed. We bring this up not to quibble over semantics, but rather because we feel this misuse of language is an example of the overall effort to mischaracterize and minimize the issue.
In general, the Argus did not fulfill its journalistic duties by failing to acknowledge the roles and opinions of all the parties involved or the great significance of the issue in general. The Argus stated “Given that the proposed construction is simply a railing and in no way resembles the Berlin Wall, it is unlikely that this concern is warranted. While it is commendable that students are sensitive to this issue, the strife surrounding the railing is unfounded.” Have you ever opened the New York Times, the Boston Globe, or the Washington Post and read, “our position on this issue is that it’s well…not so important after all?” As our co-worker, Leah Cappellucci, highlighted, it is nothing short of ludicrous for the Argus to suggest that it has any conception of how the Traverse Square residents as a whole feel about the issue, or to assume the community has reached a consensus to begin with. Given that no honest, open, or egalitarian dialogue space exists between Wesleyan and Traverse Square, what, Argus, would it take for residents to “seem like they mind”?
Ultimately, we would like to request a formal apology from the Argus for the mischaracterization of the issue, the paternalistic belittling of our “commendable sensitivity” and of our efforts as a program in general. Furthermore, we suggest a formal apology by the Argus to the Traverse Square community for claiming the authority speak for them. We trust that in the future this newspaper will hold itself to a far higher standard of accurate reporting and journalistic integrity.
Signed,
Ethna Riley, Austin Purnell, Argenys Taveras, Leah Cappellucci, Luz Burgos, Jessica Rosario, Lisa Cunningham, Mike Bolds, Sean Muschett, John Wesley, Axzyr DeLeon, Ayesha Hoda, Annalisa Kelly, Alex Piegdon, Max Barry, Justin Douglas, Adrienne Santiago, Nina Ibañez, Sean Corlett, Alaina Elrington, Mark Leonida, Diana Garcia, Becca Vershbow, Brooke Richart, Christina Marenson, Amanda Thieroff, LaShawn Springer, Mike Figura, Willie Gould, Patrick Senat, Jane Maxson, Aditi Surie, Andrew Aprile, Ashley Martin, Chayanee Ubol, Emanuel Vega, Jessie Landerman, Paul McElfresh, Maggie Velasquez, Smith Louis, Wismine Joseph, Becca Blumenshine, Maxwell Bahamón and Ryan Ewers.
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