Constitution protects Berthold’s thoughts

Daily Lobo column

Recently on the Opinion page and on the New Mexico Daily Lobo’s Web site message board, some people were advocating both the sanctioning of professor Richard Berthold and stopping Jeremy Reynalds’ weekly column. The reaction to Berthold is in response to an e-mail exchange during which he called the president of the Black Student Union an idiot. For Reynalds, it’s a response to his religious, right wing views, among other things.

The basis of Berthold’s action was this: In November, he wrote a column criticizing both the character and the bureaucracy of multicultural education here at UNM.

Then, after the December incident involving the Sigma Chi fraternity in which members duct taped a swastika and a hateful note on the car of an African-American student, Everett Wheeler-Bell, president of the Black Student Union, wrote a letter saying that Berthold’s column was a catalyst for the incident.

Berthold e-mailed him and told him that he was an idiot and knew nothing of what he was writing about. The administration then proceeded to give Berthold a lecture about professional ethics and reprimanded him for his actions in the matter.

Staff member Joel Nossoff wrote a letter praising the administration and seems to think the faculty handbook is the Bible of UNM and the supreme law. Wrong.

The U.S. Constitution takes precedence over any state, municipal, or college statute. Berthold has the right to write his articles criticizing multicultural education. As far as his personal e-mail exchange, I will say that it was a bit over the top, but understandable. Wheeler-Bell claimed that Berthold’s words were somehow responsible for the Sigma Chi incident and failed to show any hard evidence. What did he expect? If you fling accusations without evidence, it usually backfires.

The boys at Scholes Hall would be wise to let the issue blow over and not do anything that would put them in more legal entanglements. If the administration has time to worry about sanctioning Berthold and not about the basics, such as heating or air conditioning in buildings such as Mitchell Hall, then UNM is truly a foggy bottom.

As far as Jeremy Reynalds is concerned, we can all agree that he is advocating a strong conservative Christian agenda. However, he does have the right to advocate his agenda. If the people who dislike his views so much are so passionate about advocating the other side of the coin, they should attempt to arrange for a weekly or regular column. I think a good idea would be to have Reynalds’ piece on one side and an opposing view on the other. Fair enough. And, it would be a good debate and readers could determine whose view is more valid.

However, that’s probably asking too much. These types of people seem to want the easy, convenient way — get rid of the views they don’t like.

But, as long as the First Amendment is in place and the UNM paper is committed to real diversity, the pansies will not get their wishes. Berthold is here to stay, and so is Jeremy Reynalds. And let’s not forget Don Shrader.