{"id":112849,"date":"2022-08-29T00:01:28","date_gmt":"2022-08-29T04:01:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/?p=112849"},"modified":"2022-08-28T13:21:44","modified_gmt":"2022-08-28T17:21:44","slug":"unc-student-newspaper-retracts-column-critical-of-students-studying-abroad-in-israel","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/unc-student-newspaper-retracts-column-critical-of-students-studying-abroad-in-israel\/","title":{"rendered":"UNC student newspaper retracts column critical of students studying abroad in Israel"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em><strong>Daily Tar Heel author said he received threats<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Tar Heel<\/em> recently deleted from its website an opinion piece it published that was critical of studying abroad in Israel after its author said he received threatening messages.<\/p>\n<p>Carson Elm-Picard, a writer and design editor for the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill\u2019s student newspaper, wrote a column published Aug. 17 about students who studied abroad in Israel over the summer.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile the UNC students who visited Israel may have not intended to make a political statement, the decision to go is a statement in and of itself,\u201d Elm-Picard wrote in the piece, which has been <a href=\"https:\/\/archive.ph\/b9ox9\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">preserved<\/a> on Archive.com.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThey have decided the allure of studying abroad or vacationing was more important than standing in solidarity with the Palestinian people,\u201d he wrote.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany people might disagree with the conclusion I came to, but it&#8217;s an important discussion to have before you make decisions on the destination you will spend considerable amounts of time. And if that choice \u2014 intentionally or not \u2014 comes at the expense of an oppressed people, then it absolutely deserves to be scrutinized.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The column received <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mariellelise\/status\/1561200905181077505\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">some criticism<\/a> as being anti-Israel and placing Jewish students in a negative light.<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"en\" dir=\"ltr\">This article is, in my view, a subtle &amp; unfair way of antagonizing Jewish students who support Israel. Are there articles about students visiting other countries?? <\/p>\n<p>Column: When studying abroad becomes a political statement &#8211; The Daily Tar Heel <a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/iJ1zgr48Gw\">https:\/\/t.co\/iJ1zgr48Gw<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; marielle\ud83c\uddee\ud83c\uddf1\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\uddf8\ud83c\uddeb\ud83c\uddf7\ud83c\uddfa\ud83c\udde6 (@mariellelise) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/mariellelise\/status\/1561200905181077505?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 21, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p>The student newspaper\u2019s editors then removed the column at the request of Elm-Picard, who took to Twitter to respond to the criticisms.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cI have made the decision to pull my most recent DTH article because my mom has begun receiving hateful messages,\u201d he <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/carsonelmpicard\/status\/1561472991589937152\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">tweeted<\/a>. \u201c&#8230;I stand with the statements I made and realize this may seem like some sort of retraction, but at the end of the day, I am going to prioritize the safety and well-being of my family.\u201d<\/p>\n<blockquote class=\"twitter-tweet\" data-width=\"500\" data-dnt=\"true\">\n<p lang=\"zxx\" dir=\"ltr\"><a href=\"https:\/\/t.co\/3HAB6XEyWA\">pic.twitter.com\/3HAB6XEyWA<\/a><\/p>\n<p>&mdash; Carson Elm-Picard (@carsonelmpicard) <a href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/carsonelmpicard\/status\/1561472991589937152?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw\">August 21, 2022<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n<p><script async src=\"https:\/\/platform.twitter.com\/widgets.js\" charset=\"utf-8\"><\/script><\/p>\n<p><em>The Daily Tar Heel<\/em> also put out a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dailytarheel.com\/article\/2022\/08\/dth-statement-on-unpublishing-column-0821?utm_source=iContact&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_campaign=dth-headlines&amp;utm_content=\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">statement<\/a> regarding the column\u2019s removal.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThe Opinion Desk is meant to be a platform for individuals whose perspectives on the news can help give our audience insights into the world around them,\u201d <em>The Daily Tar Heel<\/em> wrote. \u201cThe column in question was removed as a means to ensure the safety and well-being of its author.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The editors of <em>The Daily Tar Heel<\/em> did not respond to requests from <em>The College Fix<\/em> seeking comment.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cTo disagree with any one aspect of the work we do is not only understandable but inevitable,\u201d Guillermo Molero, editor-in-chief of <em>The Daily Tar Heel<\/em>, wrote. \u201cBut to personally threaten anyone that works here, regardless of their role, is an affront to this organization and a personal offense to me and the rest of us so grateful to call this organization home. It will not be tolerated.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>But the newspaper did receive some pushback online for its decision in <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/dailytarheel\/posts\/pfbid02X746QsJ2E3CDzsAyW3r6uniC34dvtQ7oQpA2ZM47YTgT5yBaA8wxWE15iPMVtwwhl\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">comments posted<\/a> on Facebook that took issue with publishing the column, as well as deleting it, and with some questioning the nature of the alleged threats:<\/p>\n<blockquote><p>\u2022\u00a0Imagine if this article was directed at those who vacation in oppressive Islamic or developing nations. . .it would never have been published.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0This Category 5 freak-out about supposed personal attacks rings very, very hollow. There are no threats that I can see on the FB pages or Twitter accounts of anyone involved in this article, nor on those of the writer&#8217;s family. The author penned a rancid piece calling for targeting his Jewish peers, but pulled it, which was the right thing to do.<\/p>\n<p>\u2022\u00a0It&#8217;s unclear what constitutes &#8220;threatening messages&#8221; in this case, but the crux of the matter is that the piece was not just an opinion, it was antisemitic.<\/p>\n<p style=\"text-align: center;\"><strong>MORE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/department-of-education-launches-probe-into-uscs-alleged-antisemitism\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Department of Education launches probe into USC\u2019s alleged antisemitism<\/a><\/strong><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n<p>IMAGE: <a href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/photo\/?fbid=479430764190153&amp;set=pcb.479430847523478\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Facebook screenshot<\/a><\/p>\n            <div class=\"article-truncate-control\">\n                <button class=\"show-complete-article\">\n                    Read More                <\/button>\n            <\/div>\n\n        ","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Daily Tar Heel author said he received threats.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1254,"featured_media":112852,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1085,1077],"tags":[263,7682,10361,1701],"acf":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/08\/DailyTarHeelretraction.Facebook.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p2Oh4L-tm9","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112849"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1254"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=112849"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112849\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":112854,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/112849\/revisions\/112854"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/112852"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=112849"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=112849"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.thecollegefix.com\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=112849"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}