Is it possible that history is repeating itself on the campus of Rutgers?

This time it’s in the form of an article that had appeared in The Daily Medium, the satirical version of the The Daily Targum, the university's traditional student newspaper.

The article in question was attributed to Aaron Marcus, a columnist for the Targum, and a Jewish activist.

The article in The Medium purportedly "extolled" some of the good works of Adolph Hitler.

According to this, Marcus said that the publication of the piece under his name was hurtful. He says some of his relatives died in the Holocaust.

Rutgers President Richard McCormick says the article was “particularly despicable” in light of Marcus’ Jewish faith…and the university is looking into whether or not this could be considered a bias crime.

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Oops, did he say BIAS CRIME?

Is it possible the writers and editor of The Medium could be charged with a crime similar to the one in which Dharun Ravi was convicted?

The Medium’s faculty advisor, Ronald Miskoff, tells The Star-Ledger he hopes whatever action Rutgers takes shows understanding that college is a time when people test boundaries and can learn from their mistakes.

I don’t believe this is a mistake at all.

It’s done in the spirit of satire…plain and simple.

An article that appears in a newspaper that falls under the banner of satirical has to be seen in that context.

Bias crime? No!

And as I think Dharun Ravi was wrongly convicted of bias intimidation, so too this does not pass the bias “smell” test!

In light of Ravi’s recent conviction, and now this matter, great care has to be taken as to what we label as bias crimes.

What say you?

Does an article praising Hitler in a Rutgers satirical newspaper, attributed to a Jewish activist amount to a bias crime?

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