As Friedman says, [2]. If you are going to make the editorial decision to inflame most of the student body—who choose to attend this university because of the fact that it's Yeshiva University and there are theoretically certain standards that accompany that name—then you better make sure it's worth it. Was this really worth it? Was this one essay about a girl sleeping with a guy and then feeling bad about it so important?
Did it really help anyone who was in this position? And if so, what exactly did it help them with? What was the message behind this story? YU students eagerly engage with issues that outsiders might assume we consider taboo. We all know thoughtful reflection when we see it. If the Beacon article purports to grapple with big issues, we must conclude that it falls desperately short. So, does that really make it terrible? Not every piece of student literary output is worth bragging about; indeed, there are a number of student productions that many of us would prefer for no one, YU student or judgmental outsider, to see.
A work of comparable quality about something more mundane would have disappointed readers, but would not have been taken down. For the hot topics necessarily come with a heightened need to write, discuss, and grapple with the subjects intelligently. The audience is more sensitive and the stakes are higher. You must be careful. It fell flat. Students were embarrassed by it. But the piece could still have been made publishable through editorial work and communication. In the event that the story is a true account, I hope that its publication brought the author comfort.
But this brouhaha charges the Beacon to refine its editorial standards and discretion. Beacon editors, highlighting pieces of positive feedback they have received, claim that the article, for many, stimulated solid discussion.
I have no doubts about this. Just about anything will speak to somebody. But the number of positive responses does not negate the overwhelming number of negative ones. Many students and alumni have chosen YU, over schools widely deemed more prestigious, because they value a religious educational environment. That some students personally violate Jewish law, or halacha , does not ruin this ideal.
Those of us who were offended by the Beacon article are, for the most part, neither surprised nor particularly disturbed that an unmarried Stern girl had sex although it personally saddens me as an observant Jew to hear of other Jews acting contrary to halacha.
What was offensive was that the piece seemed to be designed for shock value rather than reasoned, intelligent discussion on what is admittedly a difficult topic in the Orthodox world. Beacon editor Simi Lampert writes, in this Sisterhood post, that YU has no forum for discussing taboo topics.
This is patently untrue. First of all, the Yeshiva University Observer deals with controversial topics all the time. One month, the topic was mental health; another, it was abuse; another still it was, yes, sex and sexuality in the Orthodox community.
The Beacon article could have dealt maturely with the issue of premarital sex among Orthodox college students had the writer, say, detailed the inner conflict between her Orthodox self and her modern self, and then explained the shame she says she experienced at the end Was it shame over losing her virginity to the wrong guy? Shame over violating halacha? But soon, at the urging of those who were offended by the piece, the student council got involved, and the Beacon was given a choice: Either take down the article or potentially lose school funding.
Before any decision had been reached, the whole story took on a life of its own and was soon featured in [Haaretz,] The Wall Street Journal and on Fox News, as well as dozens of blogs. Finally, we made a decision to not have the article taken down or edited to appease the affronted readers, and to accept the consequence of losing our status as an official club and with it, school funding.
To people following the story, this championed the cause of free speech. To us, this decision held true to the Beacons aim of allowing all students a platform to voice their opinions. I founded the Beacon 11 months ago with two other Stern students with this very aim: to foster a platform where Yeshiva students could talk about what was really on their minds.
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