The Spectator The independent student newspaper of Valdosta State University
Spectator uneven in news coverage
To whom it may concern,
Valdosta State University’s independent student newspaper, The Spectator, has been a valuable means of information concerning issues and the interest of the students on this campus since its establishment. I first want to acknowledge that.
I am writing this letter as a student and as the President of Valdosta State University’s NAACP College Chapter. I am writing this letter concerning the many complaints I have received about the The Spectator within the past year.
As a President of our NAACP Chapter here at VSU, my mission is to ensure the political, educational, social, and economic equality of the rights of all
persons and to eliminate race-based discrimination. Recently, I have received an increasing amount of complaints and I can no longer be silent about these
issues.
This past Aug. I received an email from a random student outraged about the representation of students in the The Spectator. Students are feeling targeted because of the negative articles that tend to be published
about the minorities on the campus. I myself can agree that The Spectator has over time published images and articles of African American students on this campus in a negative light and that this affects our image on this campus as a whole. In American media, this is an issue and I would hate for The Spectator to be viewed this way. As I said before though, I without hesitation agree with students who feel this way.
Your most recent article, volume 82 issue 7 on Oct. 7, 2010, “VSUPD stop
solicitors”, where a large picture of about four African-American students and VSUPD enforcement vehicles stood out as a top story really disturbed me. This
image itself seemed inappropriate at the time. I am not debating if the students were right or wrong but my point is that there needs to be equal representation
of students on this campus and as a leading media outlet, it should be “The Spectator’s” responsibility to provide equal and responsible media coverage of all students. It is my hope in the near future these concerns are not ignored.
Thank you for accepting my concerns and complaints related to The Spectator.
Feel free to contact me.
Respectfully,
DeAndre Jones
President
Valdosta State University – NAACP
What a joke. Grow up NAACP. There are already so governmental agencies and regulations in place, it impossible to be “politcally correct” anymore. DeAndre Jones, I just saw a picture of the VSU Blazers and everyone in the picture was BLACK!!! Should I report this? In the article you get upset about VSU stopping solicitors. So because they were black, you get upset? Instead of acting like a child and complaining to the paper, you should praise the VSU police for doing their job. The NAACP makes me sick.