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Howard students are fighting for a principle. They have been joined in their plight by area organizations and students from other universities and colleges.
Their protest is against disc jockey Doug "The Greaseman" Tracht of WWDC-FM. During the first national celebration of Dr. Martin Luther King's birthday, Greaseman reportedly said on the air on DC-101 that if the assassination of one Black leader was cause for a day off, then killing "four more" would result in getting a whole week off.
The students protesting want the Greaseman fired. Reportedly, the station stands by the Greaseman and has repeatedly stated that he will retain his job. They offered to suspend him and to set up a Martin Luther King scholarship at Howard University. To this, the students said no, and rightly so. To have accepted a scholarship in King's name from a station which allows this kind of on-air behavior is most unsatisfactory. Our airwaves should not be used to incite assassinations.
Greaseman's remarks, even though he apologized on the air, shouldn't be taken lightly. This was no slip of the tongue and cannot be viewed as just a mistake in judgment. What do you think would have happened had he made the same remark about killing members of the Jewish community? Just as his remarks would have been viewed as anti-semitic, I view his remarks about killing Blacks as racist.
I believe that his removal is appropriate because he serves as a role model for many. White youngsters who listen to his program day in and day out. When he makes these kinds of racist remarks on his program about Blacks and other minorities, his audience may feel...