I write to commend The Badger Herald and the excellent public relations campaign it has mounted to make itself appear to be the very bastion of free speech on campus.

After all, they did publish Horowitz’s thought-provoking question. “What about the debt blacks owe to America?” This surely qualifies them as the “independent” source of unbiased news, a local rival to the national “fair and balanced” coverage of Fox News.

The Herald would have us believe they published Horowitz’s ad not because they agreed, but because they value free speech above all. This argument would have merit had the Herald not refused to publish the response ad from the Multicultural Student Coalition.

I think the evidence demonstrates this is a paper that advocates free speech for the right-wing and suppresses free speech for groups that don’t conform to their conservative agenda. The Herald may have won the public relations campaign on the Horowitz ad, but they can’t suppress the truth from seeping out. Thank you for printing this letter, Badger Herald, in the name of free speech.

Austin King
UW Senior