Joseph Fisher
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For the former Congressman, see Joseph L. Fisher
Joseph Fisher (b. May 14, 1982, Southfield, Michigan) is an American college student and writer. Fisher is best known for his work as a columnist at The South End, the student newspaper of Wayne State University.
In 2002, he wrote the column "Islam Sucks", which sparked a furious debate over the limits of journalistic and editorial freedom.
[edit] Islam Sucks
Fisher's column originally appeared in the February 26, 2002 edition of The South End, the student newspaper of Wayne State University. It proved very controversial.
[edit] Reaction and Backlash
Reaction was immediate, with student groups protesting the column, and local Arab-American groups calling on the university to apologize. The university acted quickly, meeting with South End staff and Arab groups on campus.
The president of the university, Dr. Irvin Reid, personally appeared in front of these campus groups and apologized. Two days later, an apology written by Fisher appeared on the front page of the South End.
"I unconditionally apologize. My column titled 'Islam Sucks' was unnecessarily harsh and insensitive to the feelings of many individuals."
As a result of the column, Wayne State officials instituted diversity training programs at the paper and conducted a review of its operation.
