HUSA Plans Rally in Response to Column
By Joi Gilliam
In response to a Washington Post editorial published Sunday, the Howard University Student Association is staging a rally today where Howard University Student Association President, Byron Stewart, will demand a public apology and retraction in front of the Washington Post building.
The editorial was written in response to last week's protest on the yard during First Lady Laura Bush's visit to campus. The author, Courtland Milloy, said in his editorial that, "Howard is not some hotbed of political activism. The biggest event of the year is Homecoming, which features two fashion shows, a step show and lots of hip-hop celebrities."
Stewart, said he doesn't think Milloy's editorial was fair and that more research should have been done before writing his opinion, Stewart's aims to force the Washington Post to retract its statements with today's rally.
HUSA Vice-President, April Harley, feels equally offended by the article and also intends to force the author to re-evaluate his statements, "when we read the article on Sunday I know Byron was very upset I know I was upset at how Howard was portrayed it was very unfair. We felt the proper research had not been done as to why students were protesting and we wanted the Post and Milloy to know how we felt," she said.
Though a number of students were offended by Milloy's statements and agree with Stewart's sentiments, there are quite a few students who do not understand why there is a need for a rally or why students feel so strongly about Milloy's statements.
"I'm just not sure where Howard's heart is in the matter. Are we protesting for a cause or are we just mad that someone made us look bad," said sophomore accounting major, Samantha Loving.
Harley insists that the matter at hand should be addressed, especially if Howard is perceived a certain way in the media without the proper research being done, "its not because he made Howard look bad its more because he didn't do the proper research. We want the Post and the author to know that even if it is an editorial, they can't just write any kind of article," she said.
After today's rally, Stewart said he would like to move on to other pressing issues, but he said he would like to continue with his efforts to repair Howard's reputation after Milloy's article, "We will deal with it tomorrow and then take care of other issues. We will continue writing letters until something happens," he said.
The rally will also feature a moment of silence for Rosa Parks and speakers including Undergraduate Trustee, Asso Aidoo. Students who would like to participate can meet at the flagpole at noon.
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Wednesday, November 2nd 2005 at 9:59AM
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