Monday night, I learned what it’s like to be on the receiving end of a protest.

A group of more than 50 gathered outside my office — offended, hurt and angry.

It’s difficult to describe the feeling of having a crowd of frustrated, impassioned people yelling at you, but to say it was a rough night would be putting it lightly. In short, I’ve never felt worse about myself. I stood as a group of my peers shouted, demanded, glared and, at times, laughed in my face.

And they were right.

This group of students got together in response to an opinion column in the Friday Nov. 8 issue of Pipe Dream, titled “Dressing as another race isn’t always offensive.” As is the nature of all opinion columns, this piece reflected the view of the writer herself, and not that of me or anyone else on Pipe Dream staff.

Did I find the piece offensive? Yes. Did I find it instigative, and did I anticipate negative backlash? Yes. But I made the decision to publish it for several reasons.

The first is that, simply, free speech is free speech. Whether constructive or destructive, generous or hateful, it’s protected in this country and certainly on this campus. The same amendment that granted the protesters the right to assemble outside the Pipe Dream office also granted the columnist the right to declare her opinion. At print time for Friday’s issue, I felt it would be unfair to censor an opinion piece simply because I disagreed with its content.

That was a mistake.

Any writing dealing with a topic of such a sensitive nature should be mature, well thought-out, and delicately handled. This column was none of these things. Instead, it was a cavalier and offensive approach to a topic infused with years of pain and oppression. I should not have given it the legitimacy of being published in the pages of Pipe Dream.

Beyond the anger and frustration this decision caused, one positive outcome has me optimistic about the next step. The students who addressed me Monday evening posed some very real and pressing concerns with our publication. Some of these were issues Pipe Dream staff have already discussed, but others were new and thought-provoking. I know they have a lot more to say, and my staff and I are all ears.

Christina Pullano

Editor-in-Chief