December 16, 2005
Reported by: Marty Briggs
An editorial column in the McNeese State student newspaper, The Contraband, has upset some African-American students on campus. They claim the article printed in the paper's December 14th issue is racist, demeaning and rife with racial stereotypes. The newspaper stands by the editorial and says its done nothing wrong, but many students are left wondering how the university could condone something that clearly offends a significant segment of its student body.
On page seven of The Contraband, lower left-hand column, Sports Editor Terry Haney begins his editorial with these words: "Let me first start off by saying that I am the farthest from being a racist." McNeese student LaJuan Cranson says: "If you're not racist, why are you going to say from the beginning that you're not racist? You're trying to be racist from the beginning." The Contraband's Editor-In-Chief, Michael Rivers defends his paper's stance: "The very first sentence is: I am the farthest thing from being a racist. I thought that was a good disclaimer as to what he meant by the article. The fact that it's not about race, it's about something that he cares about fairly passionately."
What Haney is passionate about is NASCAR auto racing. What he takes offense to is individuals who wear the sport's decorative team logo jackets if they don't happen to be true fans of the sport. Haney says: "I have noticed in the past month that some black males are wearing NASCAR team jackets. I wondered if the sport was getting even bigger than I had imagined, but upon further investigation, I found out that it wasn't at all what I thought. I quizzed several black males about this growing trend and their response not only irritated me, but it also offended me as a true fan of the sport." McNeese student E.J. Stewart is one person Haney was writing about: "No, I don't watch NASCAR, but I like the jacket, so he really can't criticize that. It looks good. Whatever looks good I'm going to buy it." Jeffrey Garner was also offended by the article: "Even though I don't personally wear the jackets, I felt that he specifically pointed out a gender and a race and the comments that were made in there were inappropriate."
Haney continues by writing: "Quit worrying about how good you look and worry about what is coming out of your mouth. It is just like having a $500 car with thousands of dollars in rims, tires and stereo equipment invested in the piece of junk. Later, he adds: "Knowing absolutely nothing about it is giving me the assumption that you are a dumbass, but you look good." According to Rivers, Haney was simply voicing an opinion and meant no offense to anyone. He says he's received very little response personally to the column. "I'm bothered by it because the message is misconstrued, I believe. That's the only way I'm bothered. It wasn't supposed to be construed as racist. It's not a racist thing."
That's just not a good enough answer for many of those students who are still bothered by the editorial's content. Jeffrey Garner, for one, would like a retraction: "There should definitely be some kind of reaction. They should apologize to all black males in this school." "I personally don't even want the paper there anymore if McNeese is going to let this happen to us like this," says LaJuan Cranson. Michael Rivers says he's willing to listen to opposing points of view: "I'll discuss it with them and hear their side of it. If they have a good point, they can write a letter to the editor, or if they have a point at all and feel they want to get it out, they can write a letter to the editor and we'll print that."
The December 14th issue of The Contraband was the last issue printed for the fall semester. It will resume operations when school resumes in January. Terry Haney, the young man who wrote the article, was not allowed to talk with us on camera, but did repeat his claim in a phone conversation that he is not racist and sees nothing wrong with what he wrote. He also claims to have received threats after the article came out, and has filed a report with campus police.
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