The Daily Cougar thoroughly distorted my views by quoting me completely out of context in Wednesday's article on the Minority Legal Scholars Program on the front page. By quoting me out of context you not only misrepresented my views, you libeled the organization I serve as president.
When I was interviewed about MLSP, the first thing I said is - and this is an exact quote - "Sounds like a good idea to me." Yet, the Cougar reporter wrote "Opponents of the MLSP argue ..." and then quoted me out of context.
Preceding a quotation with the sentence "Opponents of the MLSP argue...," strictly implies two things: 1) that the person quoted is against the MLSP and 2) that the quote is an argument or part of an argument against the MLSP.
You are wrong on both counts. As should have been clear to your reporter from my very first statement, "Sounds good to me," I do not oppose MLSP.
The quote which you took out of context - and, therefore, gave an entirely different meaning - came from a statement about how to increase minority enrollment in all graduate schools.
What I said is this: "To increase the number of minorities in graduate schools, we need to address the problems with education before it's time to apply to graduate school - not just in college, not just in secondary school, but in primary school, beginning in the first grade."
Then I said, "The problem is that you cannot teach 22-year-olds information they should have begun learning in the first grade."
The real problem with the misquotation and the entire article is that the reporter apparently had a pre-conceived theme for her article: that is, that students at the Law Center are debating MSLP because of the lingering "effects of the Hopwood decision."
The problem with writing about a debate is that there must be at least two differing views on the same topic, or there can be no debate. Since your reporter apparently could not find anyone who opposes MLSP, she had to manufacture an opponent and did so by quoting me out of context.
Such a grossly incorrect quote - one that completely changes the meaning of the person's statement - is unprofessional.
Brent Haynes, president of the Federalist Society for Law and Public Policy
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