Dozens of protesters decry UC Berkeley newspaper cartoon
By Associated Press
The cartoon showed two Muslim Arabs wearing turbans sitting in a demon’s hand, about to be consumed by the flames of hell. One said to the other, “We made it to paradise. Now we will meet Allah and be fed grapes and be serviced by 70 virgin women ...”
But some students at UC Berkeley weren’t laughing. Dozens of protesters declared a sit-in on Sept. 18, the same day the cartoon ran in The Daily Californian. By 5 a.m. the next morning, they left the offices of the student newspaper peacefully.
“Freedom of speech should not come at the cost of anyone’s safety,” said Robert Chala of the UC Berkeley Arab Student Union and Students for Justice in Palestine. “This cartoon is a license for violence against Arab, Muslim, Sikh, Iranian and other communities.”
One student editor of the paper said on the evening of Sept. 18 that the offices had been “under siege” for most of that day and that, as the evening wore on, the number of protesters had steadily increased.
By 1 a.m. Wednesday, a student with the newspaper reported that more than 100 people remained in the office with “no sign that they will leave.”
Graduate student and protester Osama Qasem said a list of six demands had been given to the newspaper’s staff. Demands included a request for a printed apology in the Wednesday or Thursday edition of the paper and allowing only student-produced art and cartoons to be published by the paper in the future. The cartoon in question was drawn by syndicated cartoonist Darrin Bell.
In a statement issued early on Sept. 19, the Senior Editorial Board of the newspaper said it would not issue an apology for the cartoon. The board said the cartoon represented the opinion of the cartoonist and “in no way reflects the views and opinions of The Daily Californian” staff.
“Although the concerns of appropriateness and timing are understood, we maintain the cartoon falls within the realm of fair comment,” the board said. “Cartoons are usually exaggerated, sometimes satire and almost always meant to spark a discussion. We are willing to begin a reasoned discourse on this issue with a representative group of student leaders.”
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