Nlnews.org: Fighting for the values of honesty, fairness and the free pursuit of truth in journalism, at North Central University (NCU) and beyond (formerly representing North Central's student newspaper, the Northern Light)

Fighting for the values of honesty, fairness and the free pursuit of truth
in journalism, at North Central University and beyond

Two new media outlets publish articles on dismissals

School officials are not being honest in their comments, dismissed editors contend

Two new articles have been published on Northern Light dismissals, one by the Internet publication Inside Higher Ed and the other by the Student Press Law Center.

Dismissed editors Hope and Chuck Bahr took issue with several comments made by school officials in the articles.

In the Inside Higher Ed article, President Gordon Anderson states that discussions with the Bahrs prior to their dismissals were ultimately philosophical, and that "in a philosophical debate with students, you can get a lot of attitude."

Anderson's comment shocked former Editor-in-Chief Hope Bahr, who said she has always been respectful in her meetings with administration. Bahr said administration never approached her to say they thought she was doing anything wrong or inappropriate through her position, and that problems only arose when the school became afraid that its public image would be damaged through coverage of Soulforce.

At Thursday's dismissal meeting, Vice President of Academic Affairs Tom Burkman commented that the Bahrs had handled themselves admirably and respectfully, calling the reason for the dismissals the inevitable result of a philosophical impasse.

In the Student Press Law Center article, North Central Director of Media Relations Susan Detlefsen was quoted as saying, "It was determined by the administration to be an issue as to whether or not [Hope] could supervise her husband."

Former News Editor Chuck Bahr said the comment was outrageous.

"The issue of our marriage was never raised by administration in any discussion we took part in," Bahr said. "It was vaguely mentioned in my dismissal letter, and that was the first I'd heard of it. You'd think if it was really a problem, it would have been brought up when the school considered our applications for editorships, instead of as a convenient excuse to carry out an injustice against truth, honesty and fairness at this school."

The Inside Higher Ed article can be read online at http://insidehighered.com/news/2006/04/11/newspaper.

The Student Press Law Center article can be found at http://www.splc.org/newsflash.asp?id=1239.