Boston Bombing Suspect’s Former School Derides Rolling Stone Cover, Story

Boston Bombing Suspect’s Former School Derides Rolling Stone Cover, Story
In this magazine cover image released by Wenner Media, Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev appears on the cover of the Aug. 1, 2013 issue of "Rolling Stone." (AP Photo/Wenner Media)
Zachary Stieber
7/19/2013
Updated:
7/18/2015

Students and the chancellor of UMass Dartmouth, where Boston Marathon bombing suspect Dzhokhar Tsarnaev went to school, said the Rolling Stone cover image and story about Tsarnaev is in poor taste and the reporter obviously isn’t familiar with the area.

The August issue of Rolling Stone shows Tsarnaev on the cover in a portrait image likened by many to a “rock star” portrayal, and the accompanying story comes from two months of reporting by Janet Reitman. The magazine has already been banned by CVS, Walgreens, Rite Aid, and Kmart.

The cover sparked widespread outrage after it was released on Wednesday, including from the mayor of Boston. Now students and the top official at UMass Dartmouth are saying the cover is in poor taste and not representative of the school or region. 

UMass Dartmouth Chancellor Divina Grossman told South Coast Today on July 19 that “It is hard to understand why Rolling Stone would choose to sensationalize the bad and disparage the good.”

In the story, UMass is described as “a middling school an hour and a half south of Boston,” and having one distinguishing feature: “its utter lack of character.” 

“North Dartmouth, where the university is based, is a working-class community with virtually nothing to boast of except for a rather sad mall and a striking number of fast-food joints,” writes Reitman.

Students the South Coast Today spoke to disagreed with the characterization. Selectman John George Jr., who owns a farm and farmstand in North Dartmouth, said that it was “ridiculous” and in poor taste. “They have no idea what they are talking about, and it almost doesn’t deserve comment.”

The reporter didn’t spend much time in the region, said George Jr. “If she had, she would have met our amazing students, many from those same working-class communities she belittles, who are paying their own way through college and receiving an outstanding education that truly transforms their lives.”

Kaisa Holloway Cripps, a professor at the business school, said found it “shocking” that Rolling Stone “would stoop to that level.”