Editor:
My reactions to the content of your newspaper are usually one of purposeful neutrality; I usually read it as a diversion from the sometimes conceptually dense casebooks I read for law school. However, I feel obligated to comment on the article written about a stabbing on campus ("Student stabbed" Oct. 14).
The article mentioned that the two suspects in the stabbing were a Hispanic male and a "thin black male." The police found a possible witness who gave then the names of two men who fitted the suspects' descriptions.
I am concerned by the fact that the only picture included in the article was a police sketch of the African American male. This seems inherently unfair to me that only one suspect was shown. In light of the notoriety that the media has for its stereotypical portrayal of minorities, and especially African American males, pictures of either both suspects or neither should be shown. With the relatively small number of African Americans living in this city, and the cultural ignorance that abounds here as a result, a little more senstivity is imperative. The media doesn't have to be the leader in breaking down racial stereotypes, but it doesn't have to support them either.
Andrew M. Ellis
First-year law student