UPDATED: October, 19 10:40 p.m.

When Syracuse University disinvited photojournalist Michel du Cille and his wife Nikki Kahn from campus on Thursday, the two found themselves in an unusual position.

“As a journalist you always try to stay out of the story,” Kahn said. “Becoming the story is uncomfortable for me.”

Twenty-one days has been the accepted incubation period to determine that a person exposed to Ebola most likely does not have the virus. Du Cille, a three-time Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, was scheduled to come to campus for the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications’ Fall Workshop this past weekend. He had been symptom-free for 21 days after covering the Ebola crisis for the Washington Post in Liberia when he was disinvited late Thursday afternoon.

Bringing du Cille to campus was not a risk SU administrators were willing to take.

“My No. 1 concern is for the safety and security of students,” said Vice Chancellor and Provost Eric Spina. “There might be a 99.9999 percent chance that it’s all clear but there’s always that one in a million chance and that’s a chance I wasn’t willing to take.”

Du Cille was scheduled to attend this weekend’s Fall Workshop for students in the multimedia, photography and design program in the Newhouse School. But Spina and Newhouse Dean Lorraine Branham decided it was best to disinvite him from the workshop.

Kahn, a Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist, was also disinvited. Kahn was a graduate student at Newhouse and got her diploma in 2004.

Kahn added that she was disappointed in the decision. As a graduate of Newhouse, she said she had attended the workshop in the past and was looking forward to being there again this year as a way to give back to the SU community.

“The students have this opportunity to learn from working professionals and that opportunity was lost,” she said.

Ethan Backer, a second-year graduate student in the MPD program, had du Cille as a coach during last year’s workshop and said he was looking forward to meeting with him again. He said he was disappointed when he learned du Cille had been disinvited. However, Backer said he understood that it was a tough decision that the administration had to make.

“There was going to be an uproar and Syracuse was going to be in the news whether du Cille was allowed to come or not,” Backer said.

Kahn said du Cille had taken precautions to make sure he did not have the disease, such as taking his temperature regularly. She said coming into contact with possible danger is part of her and du Cille’s jobs, but they are always extremely careful.

Though 21 days has generally been considered the incubation period for Ebola, on Wednesday, the Washington Post published an article in which a Drexel University professor questioned whether 21 days was long enough to rule out the disease.

Branham said a student who was planning to attend the workshop researched du Cille and learned he had been in Liberia. On Thursday morning, the student notified professor Bruce Strong, who ran the workshop, that he had concerns. Strong told Branham, who then spoke with Spina about the issue.

Spina said he talked to the Onondaga County Health Commissioner, who said that it likely wouldn’t be an issue if du Cille were on campus. But they agreed it wouldn’t be unreasonable to exercise caution and ask him not to come. The decision was then made to disinvite du Cille and Kahn.

Branham called du Cille on Thursday to inform him of the decision.

Du Cille said in an email that the most disappointing part of the decision is that it’s “a disservice to the fine journalism students” at the Newhouse School.

“What a missed opportunity to teach future media professionals how to seek out accurate hard facts, backed up with full details about the Ebola crisis,” he said. “Instead they chose to pander to hysteria and perhaps xenophobia.”

But Branham and Spina both said their priority was the safety of students and they didn’t want to take a chance.

“In my mind this wasn’t a journalism decision,” Branham said. “I’m a dean of a college of 2,000 students and I couldn’t think like an editor.”

“Some people say we’re feeding into the hysteria surrounding the disease but I don’t buy into that, given our primary concern should be our students,” Spina said.

Branham said reactions to the decision were mixed. She said she received “solid support” from faculty and staff at Newhouse, as well as support from parents. Alumni reaction was mixed, but she added that she knew there wouldn’t be a consensus on the decision.

In addition, Branham invited du Cille to come back in a couple weeks, where he can have a forum to discuss his work, irrational fears surrounding the disease and can criticize the decision if he wants. Du Cille said he’d think about coming back at a later time, and Branham said she’s hopeful that he will.

Published on October 17, 2014 at 4:17 pm

Contact Brett: blsamuel@syr.edu | @Brett_Samuels27