WaPo Reports Vandalism of Crosses Used in Pro-Life Demonstration, Fails to Include Photos

The Washington Post's Susan Kinzie whipped up a 12-paragraph Metro section article for the February 3 paper on an apology by George Washington University College Democrats for the action of an unnamed member who defaced crosses used by the campus Young America's Foundation chapter for a recent pro-life demonstration.

Kinzie then noted that student "admitted responsibility and had been expelled" from the College Dems but that the "alleged offender" was not named by the campus group and will "face action through the code of student conduct" according to GWU officials.

While it's laudable that Kinzie has reported this story, it's unlikely that the Post will milk the incident for outrage, as it did with the display of a small noose at the University of Maryland in September 2007. A Nexis search shows a total of nine stories or news briefs that mention that incident during that month alone.

What's more, while a September 10, 2007 article on the UMd. noose included an Associated Press video on the Web site edition, neither Kinzie's February 3 print or Web articles included photos of the desecrated crosses, even though there are some available online.

Blogger Pat Dollard has the photos on his eponymous site, and I've included one of them below. You can judge for yourself, but to this writer, Kinzie's description doesn't do justice to just how sacrilegious the vandalism was:

Student Republicans later found drawings and writing in black ink on some of the crosses. One depicted a stick figure of a crucified Jesus. Another, hung upside down, had a condom stretched over it. One had the name of a College Democrats leader. 

It's not just that Jesus was depicted on the cross, but that the terms "pwned" and "lol" appeared at the head and foot of the cross respectively. Dollard's photo and caption for that follow:

Apparently, GW College Democrats feel Jesus is someone who needs to be conquered, and his suffering on the cross is to be laughed at. The top caption is “Pwned”, internet slang for “owned” or “defeated”. At his crucified feet is LOL - internet slang for “Laugh Out Loud”

Also curious is that while Kinzie noted that "[s]ome student leaders said the incident is part of a pattern of behavior toward conservatives on campus," it was Kinzie herself who wrote on October 9, 2007, about how the GWU Young America's Foundation group was the target of a left-wing smear campaign (excerpt below via Nexis):

Posters appeared all over the George Washington University campus yesterday morning blaring the message: "HATE MUSLIMS? SO DO WE!!!"

Campus police moved quickly to remove the fliers, university leaders began investigating how they got there and student groups met last night to deplore the posters, which had a photo of an Arab and description of "typical Muslim" features such as "suicide vest," "hidden AK-47" and "peg-leg for smuggling children and heroin."

The posters managed to upset just about everyone on campus: Muslim students, other religious groups and conservatives who are hosting "Islamo-Fascism Awareness Week" later this month. Some questioned whether they were mocking the conservatives, pointing to fine print at the bottom -- "Brought to you by Students for Conservativo-Fascism Awareness" -- and a postscript recommending a BBC video on the politics of fear.

Any subtleties were lost under the gigantic headline, though.

"I was just really shocked that this sort of hatred exists on our campus," said Najah El Bash, a sophomore from New York who is one of the leaders of the GWU Muslim Students Association. "You never think this would come so close to home, from people you're in classes with. . . . It's scary." It had to be well-planned, she said, for so many posters to go up so quickly.

GWU President Steven Knapp said in a statement last night, "There is no place for expressions of hatred on our campus." He called the fliers reprehensible and said students of different faiths will be gathering this week for a community meal with Muslims during Ramadan. "This event speaks to our university's commitment to global cultural understanding and respect."

The poster describes "typical" Muslims and says, "To find out more, come to ISLAMO-FASCISM AWARENESS WEEK!!! For more information, contact the GWU Young America's Foundation."

Sergio Gor, a senior from Los Angeles who is the president of that group, said he was horrified when he heard about the fliers. "We did not put up those posters," he said. "Someone took our name and used it. It was hateful."

"We're a conservative group on campus," he said. "We promote liberty and freedom, not bigotry and hatred." Gor and others in the group, which has hosted such speakers on campus as Newt Gingrich and John Ashcroft, were to meet last night with the Muslim Students Association and Jewish student leaders to issue a joint statement.