Arizona State University’s student newspaper editors responded Wednesday to boycott demands stemming from the controversial firing of an opinion columnist over her tweets, standing by their decision to dismiss her. 

Editors of The State Press removed Alexia Isais from her position on Sept. 17, the same day she tweeted statements seen as advocating violence against the police. Isais’ firing drew backlash from campus and community groups, which called for a boycott of the student newspaper.

State Press editors Adrienne Dunn, Andrew Howard and Joseph Perez, along with diversity officer Farah Eltohamy, laid out their final decision in an article posted Wednesday, nearly three weeks after the initial incident.

Isais will not be given her position back, nor will the paper meet all the demands of the boycott. But editors outlined efforts to better represent communities and amplify diverse voices. 

Isais told The Arizona Republic she was “shocked” by The State Press’s response. She said she received no notice the decision would be posted on Wednesday, and based on a prior meeting, she had thought the paper would cede to more of the coalition’s demands such as offering her back the position. 

Dunn told The Republic she alerted Isais on Monday that the paper hoped to release its decision by the end of the week. Dunn said she emailed Isais the statement a couple of minutes before it posted online to give her a heads-up so she didn’t just see it on social media.

The demands

The most recent version of the boycott letter — supported by about 20 ASU and community groups — included four demands. Two demands were mainly met.

But the primary demand, that Isais be reinstated as opinion columnist, was not. Isais had asked to be given back her position as a symbolic measure (she said she would not return as an opinion columnist) to show that The State Press had made a mistake.

The paper’s editors wrote that her tweets violated social media and ethics guidelines and endangered the organization. They acknowledged that her removal took away a voice “rarely represented in mainstream media” but said a symbolic reinstatement would do nothing to address that.

“While our initial actions were flawed, the reasoning behind Isais’ removal still stands,” the editors wrote. “We will still abide by the ethics standards of our newsroom and our industry. For these reasons, Isais will not be reinstated.” 

Isais told The Republic she had been optimistic that demand would be met and was disappointed she was not being symbolically reinstated, or at least given a fair disciplinary process.

“If it was a mistake made in haste, why are they not going to reverse the decision and at least give me a fair process?,” she said. “They refuse to give me a fair process because I think they know that I have too strong of a voice and my own representation.

“They still stand by the decision of firing me within a few hours, which is what angers a lot of people in the community, especially myself,” Isais said.

The editors did meet community and groups’ demands for a written apology and to rescind its initial statement on the situation. 

The State Press rescinded its initial statement announcing Isais’ removal, which it took down on Sept. 24, a week after it was posted to announce her firing.

In removing the first statement, the paper “apologize(d) for the pain that the statement caused for many individuals and organizations.”

The State Press on Wednesday apologized for the wording of the statement and for the harm it may have caused, but did not apologize for Isais’ removal.

The State Press letter said the editors also offered Isais the opportunity “to write a piece explaining the sentiment behind her tweets because we understand her views come from a place of pain and lived experiences and these views are largely unrepresented in mainstream media.”

Editors also acknowledged systemic racism in the U.S. and condemned police brutality. They said the newsroom has been working to accurately report on issues of racism and marginalization, recognizing the country’s deep history of oppression of people of color.

Isais saw the apologies as “halfway” and “performative” — as a way to get the boycott groups back on board without apologizing for her firing.

The State Press did not agree to the coalition’s request that it create a council within the paper for leftist BIPOC voices, arguing the request was “disrespectful and dismissive” of the work currently done by BIPOC journalists as well as against industry standards.

‘We want to fix the root problem’

Dunn said while The State Press didn’t immediately hear from community groups after the decision posted Wednesday, she expects some public response from Isais and the coalition given that not all their demands were met. 

Editors also outlined a number of ways The State Press is working to “better represent our communities by uplifting and protecting BIPOC voices in ways The State Press hasn’t in the past.”

“We want to fix the root problem,” Dunn said. “We think that moving forward and being more thoughtful going forward is the best way to be better, both in our newsroom and in our community.”

These efforts include revisiting social media guidelines to make them “more open, so that staff members can reference and express their lived experiences and call out injustices while still upholding our code of ethics.”

The paper will track its sources and publish those findings, host town halls for the ASU community, prioritize more representative coverage and hold discussions in the newsroom.

The paper also is reevaluating its opinion section so it fosters “healthy dialogue instead of damaging discourse.” 

Editor’s note: Adrienne Dunn, The State Press executive editor,and Farah Eltohamy are interns at The Arizona Republic.

Reach the reporter at [email protected] or at 602-444-4282. Follow her on Twitter @alisteinbach.

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