Last Monday, we published an op-ed written by a UC Berkeley student who is an undocumented immigrant. As stated in the column’s editor’s note, it is Daily Cal policy not to print unsigned letters or op-eds, unless the writer would feel threatened if his or her identity were revealed.

There was a post last week by Justin Azadivar, who uses the pseudonym Beetle Aurora Drake on the Berkeley blog Beetle Beat, questioning the omission of the writer’s name.

Given the writer’s status and the current contentiousness of the issue being discussed, opinion page editor Andrea Lu and myself decided to withhold the name. Though the submission appeared unsigned in print and online, the Daily Cal contacted the writer several times before publication to understand the reasoning behind the request. Publishing the writer’s name could have exposed the writer or the writer’s family to hate crimes and potentially made them more susceptible to deportation. Read the rest of this entry »

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