Columbia Student Paper to End Comment Sections on Sex Assault Articles
Commenting on stories about sex assault is no longer allowed but you can still carry a mattress around if you want.
Dave Huber of the College Fix reports.
‘Columbia Spectator’ to shut down comment sections on sex assault articles
The Columbia Daily Spectator student newspaper will no longer provide comment sections for articles dealing with sexual assault.
Columns dealing with the topic dating back to May of last year also will have their comment sections closed.
Spectrum (a section of the Spectator) reports:
We value the many comments readers have on our stories. When done thoughtfully, comments can further conversations in ways that add insights and provide new perspectives to our stories. Moreover, comments are the most direct way for readers to give feedback to Spectator, which is central to our ongoing goal to improve our coverage.
However, the comments on our opinion pieces related to sexual assault have not been used for these purposes. Instead, anonymous commenters and internet trolls have used this space to spread hate, vitriol, and ad hominem attacks on writers and members of our community rather than offering commentary on the content of the piece or on the complex issue of how to address sexual assault on our campus.
Surprisingly, the comments are open at the Spectrum article, and there’s plenty of folks letting the Spectator know how they feel about the new policy.
‘Columbia Spectator’ to shut down comment sections on sex assault articles (The College Fix)
Comments
IMHO, this has everything to do with the public backlash against Emma Sulkowicz. The spectator staff just won’t accept and will not believe she’s a fraud, a liar and manipulated everyone for her own ends.
A recent op-ed (Feb 5)) by Caroline Williamson starts off with this ridiculous spin,
http://columbiaspectator.com/opinion/2015/02/05/our-role-unofficial-conviction-paul-nungesser
“Paul Nungesser has spoken out in a Daily Beast article, explaining why he believes himself to be the true victim in the Emma Sulkowicz situation. The article, which releases Facebook messages shared between Sulkowicz and Nungesser dated after the alleged attack, seems to call Sulkowicz’s account of the incident into question.
These messages are evidence of nothing. They are neither an exoneration of Nungesser nor an indictment of Sulkowicz, if only because Nungesser was already exonerated and Sulkowicz has never been accused of any wrongdoing. The true question here is why the public so easily raced to convict Nungesser without the presentation of any real evidence.”