Hot Seat: Media Monday 04/29/24 Interview with the Monitor’s Eric Santomauro-Stenzel
For more on the Hot Seat: Media Monday, go to UticaPhonenix.net/MediaMonday/
Eric Santomauro-Stenzel talked about his work as the editor-in-chief of the Monitor, a social justice publication at Hamilton College. Eric’s coverage has included labor issues, discrimination, climate, physical accessibility, and the far right, including the hate group Moms for Liberty and their connection to the extremist conservative organization, the Alexander Hamilton Institute.
“We cover social justice issues on our campus…news, opinion, features, interviews, and we also often serve as a platform for student advocates.” They also do investigative journalism uncovering wrongdoing and putting a spotlight on people trying to make a positive difference on campus. They talk about solutions and put issues into context.
Eric Santomauro-Stenzel explains how and why college students are pushing their educational institutions to divest from companies that directly or indirectly, support the killings in Gaza. You can read Santomauro-Stenzel’s journalism on the topic at: https://www.hamiltonmonitor.com/post/david-wippman-israel-palestine
In this segment, I ask Eric Santomauro-Stenzel why the extreme right-wing supports Israel and why homophobic politicians try to trick LGBTQ people into supporting the killings. Santomauro-Stenzel explains how it is a tactic by the far right to delegitimize higher education. Their concern is that expanding opportunities for education can result in more opportunities for diverse and minority populations; this is seen as a negative by the right wing. You can read more about Hamilton College’s Students for Justice in Palestine organization at: https://www.hamiltonmonitor.com/post/solidarity-from-clinton-to-gaza-hamilton-s-students-for-justice-in-palestine
Santomauro-Stenzel points out the disconnect between the students who are protesting the violence in Gaza for humanitarian reasons and the older wealthy donors who are trying to use their financial clout to suppress students who speak out about the violence. You can read the Monitor’s position on the topic at: https://www.hamiltonmonitor.com/post/we-call-for-a-ceasefire-an-open-letter-to-our-hamilton-community
We discuss how we have both reported on the hate group Moms for Liberty. Additionally, Santomauro-Stenzel has done a lot of research into the right-wing Alexander Hamilton Institute. You can read his work covering the hate group at: https://www.hamiltonmonitor.com/post/clinton-rallies-for-freedom-to-learn-love-contrasts-moms-for-liberty-at-ahi
Follow Eric Santomauro-Stenzel on Instagram.com/eric.santomauro.stenzel/ and Twitter.com/e_sant_stenz .
Ron Klopfanstein is a multimedia investigative journalist, news and features editor, and creative content producer for the Utica Phoenix digital platform and 95.5 FM “The Heat” broadcast and streaming. He also hosts the Hot Seat: Media Monday every Monday at 5 pm, broadcast on 95.5 FM and streaming at 955TheHeat.com. Like him at Facebook.com/ReadRonKlopfanstein, Follow him at Threads.net/@RonKlopfanstein, Instagram.com/RonKlopfanstein, Twitter.com/RonKlopfanstein, Tiktok.com/@ronklopfanstein, and subscribe to his channel at YouTube.com/@RonKlopfanstein. Read all his work at Muckrack.com/ron-klopfanstein.
