Giuliani graphic elicits widespread condemnation

Author: Nicolas Emery

A photographic illustration included in the March 17, 2005 issue of The Middlebury Campus has attracted the attention of major media outlets and prompted President Ronald D. Liebowitz to condemn the illustration in a campus-wide e-mail sent on March 25. The photo illustration, which is a modified photograph of former New York City mayor Rudolph Giuliani including a Hitler-style mustache and haircut, was published alongside an opinions submission by Ben Gore '05. Gore, who was unaware of the illustration prior to its publication, wrote his piece to argue his opinion that Giuliani should be un-invited as the Commencement speaker for the Class of 2005.

Published in the print edition as well as the online edition of the student-run newspaper, the illustration has had far-reaching effects. On March 21, The Wall Street Journal ran a blurb in their online edition about Gore's submission and the accompanying illustration. The article, written by James Taranto and entitled "Spot the Idiot," quotes two paragraphs of Gore's piece and goes on to point out that "accompanying the article is a thumbnail photo of Hitler, which is especially strange since even this author doesn't actually compare anyone to the Nazi dictator." Taranto misidentifies the photo illustration as an image of Hitler. He also apparently assumed that Gore's opinions submission was an anonymous editorial or a piece written by the editorial board because of an error committed by Online Editor Tristan Hayes '07, who failed to attach Gore's name to the piece on the online edition of The Campus.

According to Director of Public Affairs Philip Benoit, a reporter from the Fox News Channel also contacted the College to inquire about the illustration and the article (which he also referred to as an editorial), but did not further pursue the story.

In an unusual move, President Liebowitz strongly condemned The Campus' decision to publish the illustration in an e-mail addressed to the entire Middlebury College community. "The decision of The Campus' editorial staff to include such a photo reflects a gross misunderstanding of history, let alone of Mr. Giuliani's record," wrote Liebowitz in a campus-wide e-mail. "It also reflects an unacceptable and embarrassing ignorance of the magnitude of Hitler's crimes against humanity."

Amidst the controversy, Andrea Gissing '05 stepped down as Editor-in-Chief of The Middlebury Campus on Sunday evening. She declined to comment on her motivation for resigning, but stressed that her decision was not influenced by pressure from the administration.

In response to Liebowitz's e-mail, Gissing said, "I regret that he didn't feel an acceptable means of expressing his opinion was through discussion with The Campus editorial board before making such a widespread condemnation."

According to Gissing and Opinions Editor Jake Kuipers '06, the conception of the image as well as the decision to publish it was the result of a brainstorming session between Gissing, Kuipers and Sonja Pedersen-Green '07, the other opinions editor. "I knew that there would be a negative reaction to the image," said Gissing. "My reasoning focused around the fact that the image had so many different possible meanings for anyone who saw it and the appropriateness could be questioned in a variety of different ways. That is the purpose of editorial cartoons/photo illustrations, to incite both reaction and consideration."

"As we do with every photo illustration, we try to take key points that could be used to catch the eye of the reader and give more light to the article," explained Kuipers.

Gore, the author of the opinions submission, expressed frustration with the decision of The Campus editorial staff to include the modified image with his work. "I feel the photo trivialized and sensationalized what was actually a very measured article, with a very moderate message. This had nothing to do with Hitler," Gore said of his submission. Gore calls Giuliani an "authoritarian" and a "racist" and wrote that Giuliani was "coming to be considered a fascist," but does not mention the Nazi dictator in his submission. However, current policy at The Campus does not require editors to consult the writers of opinions submissions before creating photo illustrations to go with their pieces.

Benoit, among other administrators, lamented the newspaper's decision to use the illustration. "The decision to run the photo tells me that The Campus needs to take more seriously its mission as the public voice of the Middlebury student body," said Benoit.

While affirming that "our College's newspaper is run by our students, without intervention or restraint from faculty, staff, or administrators," Liebowitz also called on the editorial board to exhibit "greater seriousness and thought."

Dean of the College and Professor of American Literature and Civilization Timothy Spears said, "It's a tricky situation because the student newspaper is meant to be independent and we as an administration certainly don't want to create a situation where we lead the newspaper by the nose - but when things appear in the paper that seem to cross a line, somebody needs to speak out. It's a moral issue."

Hanson and Liebowitz were not available for comment by press time.