This past Thursday, I attended a lecture that is part of the Humanities at RPI lecture series. The topic was propaganda, and the speaker gave examples of how clever President George W. Bush’s aids are with using photography to create illusions. In more frank terms, illusions are what one calls lies. The lecturer urged the audience to question what they read, to approach media with a critical mind, and not to be a mindless machine that believes all that it reads. In other words, you cannot assume that everything you hear or read is a fact. Our bias affects how we interpret events. The Polytechnic article attacking Senator Khaoula Benghanem does not necessarily represent factual information. Benghanem campaigned against Grand Marshal Mike Dillon and the S.Badia Party this past election that was held less than four weeks ago. This fact is unchallenged. You can visit the Rules and Elections committee website for verification. This leads me to question the accuracy of Dillon’s allegations.

What remains to be verified is the story written by The Poly as well as the allegations made against Benghanem by the current GM and Senator Goldenberg in their appearance on RPI TV. Those allegations stated that Benghanem admitted to the fabrications. I ask Andrew Tibbetts and the editorial board of The Poly, or whoever supplied this information, to bring forth the evidence: the hard facts, not hearsay or opinions. The audience can then judge for themselves. Poly reporters are human, like the rest of us. We each have our own bias. The different accounts I heard of the Senate meeting leaving me no choice but to challenge Tibbetts and The Poly to provide evidence supporting the accuracy of the article written last week.

Nassiba Benghanem