Column: The Free Press is Alive and Well at Penn

· As I read the First Amendment of the Constitution of the United States, freedom of the press does belong to the people who own the presses. The amendment simply forbids the government from abridging this freedom. People who own the presses can choose to print, or not print, whatever they want. (Of course, the courts have limited these rights so that newspapers cannot print libel.) Recently, people I would characterize as anti-Semitic propagandists sent The Daily Pennsylvanian a full-page, pre-paid advertisement that denied that a Holocaust occurred in Nazi-controlled Europe. This is a lie. In a debate that ensued, I argued that by printing the ad, the paper would be printing a false, misleading and malicious, unsolicited advertisement and would be hurting many of our readers. I also threatened to quit my post as editorial page editor if the ad ran because, as a Jew, I did not wish to have my name associated in any way with an organization that would print such an ad. The people who are sending this ad to college newspapers across the country are very clever. They are sending it to newspapers at many campuses with large Jewish populations. Therefore, many of the newspapers that have received the ad have Jewish editors and business people in their ranks. The propagandists have tried to put themselves in a win-win situation. If we had printed the advertisement, their lies would have gotten out as they wanted it to be heard. If we didn't print it they would have called us the "Thought Police." (In fact, they did.) In the first instance people on the campus and at the newspaper would have been hurt. In the second instance, only people on the paper would have been hurt (and were). But whatever our choice, the propagandist's purpose would have been served. The truth is that The Daily Pennsylvanian made the right decision. We decided not to print lies. We did not "censor" anyone. No one's freedom of speech was abridged. If any group wants to print up lies themselves and distribute it on campus, they are welcome to try. · Because I did receive advance warning about this ad, I had plenty of time to think about whether or not to publish it. And because I had studied Jewish history, I had plenty of information on which to assess the content of the ad. In the past, the newspaper has accepted and printed ads which have hurt individuals and groups on this campus. In some cases I did not always have the time to ponder the content of the ads. In some cases I did not have the background to effectively assess the content of the ads. · The way this entire debate has transpired speaks volumes for the true value of "diversity" at this university and at this newspaper. Although the paper, in my opinion, has made strong attempts to reach out to the entire campus community, the staff is not as "diverse" as I would hope. But, the fact is, the doors to the DP are open for all members of the University community. Anyone who wants to get involved needs only to come and volunteer. While it takes a big commitment to become an editor, there are ways to make significant contributions that take as little as three hours a week of work. I challenge anyone on campus who is interested in writing, photography, marketing, advertising or management, and who views this paper as a "community trust," to get involved. Look at the rejection of this ad as a healthy precedent which has helped to enlighten us as to the power and responsibility of the press. Rejecting this ad was an education for us and made us more sensitive to the impact of what we publish. Proponents of running the ad say we are setting a dangerous precedent. I simply don't see enlightenment and increased sensitivity as dangerous. This wasn't a free speech issue. It was an issue of whether we wanted their money enough to print lies. · In the meantime, my hat is off to the editors of The Vision, The Graduate Perspective and The Red and Blue, who have made a commitment to publish viewpoints they do not feel are adequately represented in this paper. I'm sure Ben Franklin would be happy to see the vigorous and free press today at the University of Pennsylvania. Steven Ochs is a senior Economics major and editorial page editor of The Daily Pennsylvanian.

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