The Charger Bulletin prides itself in upholding free speech and wants to reiterate the importance of serving as a platform for student voices. In fact, we are no stranger to the publication of op-eds (opinion pieces) that have stirred up conversation in the student population.

Conversation is important and disagreement is a staple of opinion-based journalism.

With that said, with the training we receive as journalism students – and beyond that, the scope of being empathetic humans that we should all possess – we know there are some things for which you simply should not grant space on a page.

On Feb. 14, the Quinnipiac Chronicle published a student opinion, “A cease-fire in Gaza will cause more harm than good.” The piece was written by a staff writer.

The writer argued that a ceasefire is not tangible: “To get both of these sides to get what they want in such an agreement would be almost impossible.” The writer relied on statistics about the violence of Hamas committed against Israel, and not of the state against the people of Palestine or the sexual and physical violence — which many are calling genocide — in the Middle East. Their general thesis was an attempt to answer the question, “Why should Israel and the U.S. try to bargain with Hamas to achieve a cease-fire?” The author has decided the answer is “simple” in that “they shouldn’t.”

The article was promoted on the Chronicle’s Instagram, which has since gained nearly 100 comments, most of which disagree with the article and express disapproval of the publication.

User @xlomara left a comment: “The person who wrote this has no shame this is absolutely disgusting, to say no to a ceasefire where more than 28,000+ have been murdered and 68,000+ injured, these are innocent civilians dying on their indigenous land. Israel is an occupying, colonialist, and destructive force whose only goal is to eradicate the Palestinian people.”

Her sentiments were shared by many, including @connor.youngberg, who wrote that he “didn’t think I’d see a pro-genocide article today, but here we are.”

Words repeated throughout the other comments including “disappointing”, “disgusting” and “horrifying”.

User @ariba.chaudhry expressed concern about the news organization, as she said that “beyond the writer, [she is] incredibly disappointed in the chronicle for platforming this kind of hateful and insensitive rhetoric when Palestinians are currently victim to a genocide on an unimaginable scale.”

We at the Bulletin condemn the publication of content which puts in question the value of the safety of populations not only overseas but of students on our campuses. We believe wholeheartedly in holistic journalism and unbiased publication of student perspectives, but copy that can be interpreted as hate speech is written without holistic statistics being addressed or contains rhetoric which compromises the value of the lives of certain populations holds no place in student news.

We believe that people on editorial boards at accredited universities should know better, and they should consider the impact of the rhetoric which they publish. The Chronicle should have turned down this piece for the sake of students at Quinnipiac University and across the country.

This same policy should apply to speech that minimizes victims on any side of any historical conflict, especially while present-day affairs have taken the lives of countless civilians.

We at the Bulletin have implemented a policy at the start of the academic year that permits only hard news coverage on the current Israel-Hamas affairs. We aim to prevent any discourse that could potentially damage anyone affected by the situation in Palestine and Israel.

We find the Chronicle’s editorial decision unacceptable, and welcome University of New Haven students to contact us with any concerns or thoughts about ensuring safe publication and proper sensitivity despite the maintenance of free speech.