Saturday, October 18, 2003
Copyright © Las Vegas Review-Journal

COLUMN BACKLASH: Outrage aimed at UNLV paper

Student's opinion piece about Christopher Columbus shakes up campus

UNLV junior Alexander Marriott, a columnist for the Rebel Yell student newspaper, poses Friday in his Las Vegas home. Photo by John Locher.

UNLV students had a tough time grabbing a copy of the Rebel Yell before class Thursday morning.

About 30 distribution stands for the campus newspaper were wiped out of the latest edition. The copies were tossed into several garbage bags and left in the University of Nevada, Las Vegas amphitheater, covered with a sheet that read, "Rebel Yell Wake Up."

Pages of notebook paper covered the garbage bags with more messages, including, "Consume less propaganda, create more truth," and "Marriott is a racist."

Student columnist Alexander Marriott is not surprised.

The UNLV junior has been called several names on campus in the past couple weeks. He has been compared to Adolf Hitler and accused of supporting "genocide, rape and slavery." It has also been suggested he "take a flying leap."

The comments came in response to Marriott's opinion piece, "Christopher Columbus, we salute you." The column ran in the Rebel Yell on Sept. 29, and the paper is still receiving letters from the university community expressing outrage.

The Review-Journal reprinted the column in its Oct. 12 opinion pages.

Marriott said the purpose of the column was to remember Columbus for bringing Western civilization to America. He said the UNLV newspaper usually prints negative stories about the explorer, and he wanted to present another opinion.

But some of his phrases, including the assertion that some societies are "better than others" and a reference to American Indians as "primitive Stone Age level savages," have some screaming racism.

"I knew there'd be a good amount of people who'd be shocked," he said. "I didn't expect it to go on like this."

The Rebel Yell doesn't know who is responsible for Thursday's incident. Editor Renae Judkins believes a large group of people took the newspapers because the notes covering the bags were written in different handwritings.

She said UNLV police are looking into the incident. UNLV police did not return calls from the Review-Journal.

The Rebel Yell is printed twice a week. Judkins said there was nothing controversial in the latest edition, mainly devoted to Homecoming events. She thinks the stunt was a response to Marriott's Columbus column, and that it took a few weeks to arrange.

"I can see why they were upset at the Rebel Yell," she said. "I don't know if the article was up to Rebel Yell standards."

Judkins said the paper does not write opinions for shock value, and staffers try to back their opinions with facts.

Allen Lichtenstein, attorney for the ACLU of Nevada, said he is not surprised by the reaction.

He said stealing newspapers is the only violation in this situation. Strong feelings are to be expected over a subject as complex as Christopher Columbus.

Lichtenstein said both Marriott and the students calling him a racist are protected by the First Amendment.

"Speech is powerful," he said. "People react to it. Sometimes the reactions go overboard."

Marriott said he has received no threats, and if he had it to do again he would not change his column.

"I have no control over what reactions people have," he said.