The Mount Holyoke News » Opinions & Editorials

The politics of: Running mates

Carol Still — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:46:49 +0000

As the primary race comes to the end of its course, talk shifts from an individual candidate to what’s called a ticket: the pair of candidates who will run for President and Vice President. The media makes a huge deal out of who is chosen to run for Vice President.

Importance is placed on the VP candidate for a few reasons. Firstly, the Vice President is one heartbeat away from becoming President. This is because of the 25th Amendment and the presidential line of succession. Section One of this Amendment states that “in case of the removal of the President from office or of his death or resignation, the Vice President shall become President.” In fact, nine Presidents throughout history assumed office in this manner.

Secondly, the VP candidate is seen as someone to “balance” the ticket. Every candidate has weaknesses; however, a candidate can choose a running mate to counter these weaknesses. For instance, Obama was criticized during the 2008 election for having too little legislative experience in Washington, having only served in the Senate for four years. He was additionally criticized for being too aloof, ivory tower professorial, and out of touch with “real” Americans. Enter Joe Biden. In 2008, Biden had served in the Senate for 36 years, and was well-known for his brash, straight-talking persona.

Thirdly, the VP candidate is also used to balance the Electoral College ticket. National candidates tend to win their home states, so having a VP from a state with a large number of electoral college votes never hurts.

There has been some speculation that Obama will bump Biden and choose Hillary Clinton (excuse me, Hillz) to be his running mate. I don’t see this happening, even if the millions of Obama-Biden bumper stickers aren’t enough of an indication. Biden has been a huge help to Obama, bringing his expertise to many legislative battles.

There is much more room for speculation on the Republican side. Mitt Romney is all but the declared nominee. Some areas of weakness which could be strengthened include his “one percent” image, his views on women’s issues, and his stance on most core Republican issues. Many Republicans have a problem with how liberal Romney is. Additionally, Romney’s religion is often an issue, as many are still mystified by Mormonism and therefore not as comfortable with the idea of a Mormon president.
Romney would be well-balanced by a hard line Republican candidate. This would signal Romney’s commitment to core Republican issues. Romney would also be helped by someone from a traditionally Republican state – a Massachusetts Republican is not the same as a Louisiana Republican. Romney would also benefit from an Evangelical VP candidate, someone who could truly speak the language of the Bible Belt and connect to Christian voters. Finally, given his pearly-white, Ken-like image, Romney would benefit from a woman or minority running mate.

Given these qualifications, I put my money on Jan Brewer, Governor of Arizona; Marco Rubio, Senator from Florida and a Cuban American; or Bobby Jindal, Governor of Louisiana. Of the three of these, I put my hopes on Brewer. I obviously think that Obama should be reelected (my April Fools column wasn’t actually a joke), and I think that Romney-Brewer gives Obama the best chance.

Equal Pay Day: MHC Minds the Gap

Chiedza Mufunde — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:43:11 +0000

April is the month of minding the gap, and April 17 is Equal Pay Day. This day marks the gap between women’s and men’s wages. In the same mood of awareness, this past week MHC hosted the second annual Mind the Gap campagin to raise awareness about the total cost of a Mount Holyoke education. Signs were placed across campus to conscientize the whole community on the true costs of keeping the college running. The signs highlighted costs for cleaning residence halls, electricity and water costs as well as maintaining science laboratories and the library; most of these costs are subsidized by contributions from alumnae.

In a recent press release announcing The Simple Truths About the Pay Gap by the American Association of University Women (AAUW), a “commonsense guide about the gender pay gap,” the national average for women remains at 77 cents to a man’s dollar. This guide also examines racial and ethnic breakdowns, stating “White and Asian women earn, respectively, 82 percent and 88 percent of white men’s earnings. African American and Hispanic women earn much less — just 70 percent and 61 percent of what white men earn, on average.” It’s clear that the fight for pay equity is ongoing, hence the continued need to equip women with the skills they need to negotiate for fair compensation.

Mount Holyoke recently joined the advocacy efforts in equipping young college women with skills on salary negotiation. On March 30, MHC launched the first $tart $mart Salary Negotiation Workshop with mostly students in attendance. The trainer, Annie Houle from the WAGE (Women Are Getting Even) Project commended the enthusiasm of the students who attended the workshop, adding, “I loved being there[...]the women never stopped participating.” The interactive workshop went over basics of salary negotiation, role play, the importance of research and a detailed segment on budgeting focused on understanding expenses and earning a liveable salary.

In addition to the student-centered workshop, Houle also trained members of staff and three students as facilitators for the workshop. Janet Lansberry, the assistant director at the Weissman Center for Leadership, was “thrilled that Start Smart will be offered to students next year. It’s invaluable, empowering, and will surely help to close the current wage gap between men and women.”

The plan is to continue offering the workshop every semester. “The CDC is committed to offering this workshop, with the help of student and staff trainers, to more MHC students every year—a terrific complement to the CDC’s individual advising of students on this important issue,” Steve Koppi CDC director said.

Even though getting a national consensus on pay equity is still a struggle, Mount Holyoke is taking steps in this movement by equipping its graduates with tools they need as members of the workforce to shrink the wage gap. Remember, the fight for equal pay is not merely about being paid more, it is about being paid equally and about valuing women’s work.

A poem a day keeps the therapist away

Rita Kerbaj — Thu, 19 Apr 2012 13:37:17 +0000

It is too easy to hate poetry. Many of us are scarred by memories of misinterpreting classical poetry during high school English courses and oftentimes feeling too inadequate or unsophisticated to understand or appreciate poetry. I’ll admit that despite my complaints about T.S. Eliot’s morbidity in measuring out his life with coffee spoons, I secretly loved him; his use of imagery did more than occupy the topic sentences of my essays. Since then, I have grown to love poetry beyond the academic settings and, fortunately, not in secrecy.

My relationship with poetry has evolved; I have familiarized myself with many different poets and have thus acquired a taste for their different styles depending on my mood. I should tell you that I am by no means a connoisseur or a poet. Much like one’s appreciation for books, art or food, love for poetry develops, and you should let it do so on a daily basis. Conveniently, poems are often short and easily transportable.

To read a poem every day is a commitment to thought, reflection, improvement and appreciation of oneself. Read it while eating breakfast, while you’re on the bus or in bed before going to sleep. Read a poem when you’re waiting for your professor to arrive to class, when standing in line to get into the dining hall or when you’re gassing up your car. Poems are relatable, portable.

I pleasantly recall thinking of my mother on the other side of the world at midday while reading, “Across a city from you, I’m with you, just as an August night,” by Adrienne Rich. I’ve also had my pensive days, when the Argentine Luise Benitez, for instance, started my morning with, “If you have nothing to say keep silent – let Ezra Pound speak.” Brighter mornings started with things like Gottfried Benn’s, “Fill yourself up with the forsythias.” After a hard day, I always rely on Mary Oliver to tell me, “Here you are, alive. Would you like to make a comment?”

There are many lessons, smiles, memories and reflective pauses that ensue from reading a poem. There is much value in poetry as an art form that is often forgotten outside the classroom. There is also much value in affording yourself the time to indulge in a bit of serene reading amidst the chaotic college schedule, rather than allowing your thoughts and emotions to consume your next therapy session.
Finally, I want to say that I am not suggesting a radical idea here. In fact, British poet William Ernest Henley’s “Invictus” provided much moral support for Nelson Mandela during his years as a prisoner, as he recited it to other prisoners, emphasizing its message about self-mastery.

Few blogs and even books are dedicated to providing a poem a day. And while I stressed on the importance of this practice for the self, I encourage you to share it with others. In fact, I read my friend excerpts from different Mary Oliver poems during finals last semester to get us through the dreariness and to make procrastination more productive. Read a poem whenever you can, whether to yourself or to another, and you will soon find composure in that very act.

Senior musings: what I wish I would have known

Sorcha Grogan — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 23:37:05 +0000

If I could meet my first year self, we probably wouldn’t be the best of friends. She had a strange sense of fashion, went to every party at Blanchard, showed up to class at least 15 minutes early and did all of the homework ahead of schedule. As a senior, I dress however I want, my friends and I attempt to sneak into the occasional “cooler” Blanchard party, I show up to class three seconds before the professor begins and I start homework the day it’s due. Now I’m not condoning these actions, but you’ll see how senioritis hits you when you get there.

I know registration is this week and everyone is frantically trying to come up with the perfect schedule: no 8:35s, no class on Friday, top rated professors on ratemyprofessor.com, the usual. For those of you who haven’t planned out your schedule for all four years at Mount Holyoke, here’s some advice: take the classes you’re interested in. I had the choice to double majoring in Politics and French, but I decided not to take the boring lit requirements for the French major and instead am now taking a class where we read about all types of traveling, argue about the meaning of “vagabond” and eat cookies. Who wouldn’t like that? Take the classes you are really interested in, take multiple with the professors you love and try all sorts of new subjects.

One really important thing is to major in what you want to major in. Don’t major in geology because your brother is or because you heard geology majors get higher paying jobs after graduation. You need to major in something because you want to. You have the rest of your life to make crazy amounts of money, so spend this time figuring out what you love. You don’t need to be an economics major to go into investment banking or financial consulting. You don’t need to be an English major to get a Masters in creative writing. And you don’t need to major in biology to go to medical school.

One thing I wish someone had told me three years ago is that time speeds up in college. Okay, you might think that the hour and fifteen minutes of [insert name of the most boring class you’ve ever taken] feels like someone trapped you in a timeless bubble with the monotonous voice of the professor on a loudspeaker, but in the scheme of things, that’s nothing. You only have eight semesters here and one or two of them could be taken up with study abroad, something I think is absolutely necessary to complete our education, so don’t waste time. Even if you’re on a varsity sports team like I am, take random PE classes that you think would be fun; anything from badminton to soccer, or swimming for fitness to horseback riding.

I came into college thinking I’d meet all my new best friends within a week, I’d major in something to prepare me for law school and I’d enjoy every moment of my time here. I met my friends on the volleyball team, through random people and on move-in day first year. I am majoring in politics, but who knows if I’ll go to law school. There have been moments when I wanted to scream and get out of South Hadley. Things change and don’t go as expected; so be flexible. Don’t give up if something goes by wrong or you think you’re going crazy. Make the most of your time here, because it goes way too freaking fast! Try out for a varsity sport (preferably one you know the general rules to), try a new language (Russian and Arabic sound super cool), take an art class and if you’re horrible at it, at least you know you were never meant to be a sculptor or painter, but the point is you tried.

I know I sound all preachy and senior-y, but I’ve been through a strange and awesome four years here. Maybe it’s because the end is so near and the safety of being at Mount Holyoke is coming to a close. I feel all nostalgic and sentimental, but you don’t want to leave college with regrets so try everything, join random orgs but don’t overextend yourself. There’s a fine line.

Don’t bash the glasses, or technological advancements

Sarah Murphy — Thu, 12 Apr 2012 23:35:10 +0000

Candy Gonzalez ’14

Technology is taking over. All too often we are distracted by the virtual world to pay attention to the real world. Technology takes our attention away from the present whether through text messages, Facebook notifications or emails. Now with Google’s announcement of Project Glass, the development project for eye glasses that essentially act as a smart phone, you can have information projected at you all day long,

Google is hoping to make your life 100 percent efficient. With these glasses, you will be able to read text messages, take pictures or know when a subway stop is closed and get redirected to your destination by foot. It sounds like an amazing advancement in technology, but is this device a positive contribution to the technological world?

Google describes Project Glass as a technology that “helps you explore and share your world, putting you back in the moment” so you don’t have to look down, pull out your phone, and take yourself out of the “real” world to take a picture or video call. While I doubt wearing a computer on your face will put you “back in the moment,” the idea of having all of the information at your visual disposal is an exciting possibility, bringing us a little closer to the Jetsons’ idea of the future.

With the announcement of the development of this new product, technology bloggers and laymen alike are asking the question, “has technology gone too far?” It seems like today everyone is on information overload, skimming news pages, Facebook newsfeeds and blogs.

There is just so much information that we take in on any given day that some argue that our generation has lower attention spans because of our technology usage. Earlier this week, I downloaded a new app, Zombie, run!. Excited by the possibility that this app could enhance my workout and make my monotonous jog around Upper Lake a bit more fun, I soon realized that this genius idea (if someone with a British accent tells you to run from a pack of zombies, you are going to run) it added unnecessary technology to my life and provided almost too much stimulation.

I understand both the benefits and the downsides of the abundant use of technology. In a TED talk by Stefana Broadbent given in Oxford, England in 2009, Broadbent described how the use of technology to communicate has brought people together because of the different channels people can use to stay in contact. An average Facebook user has 120 friends but only talks with four to six people on a regular basis. Similarly, the average instant message buddy list consists of 100 people but a typical user communicates regularly with less than five people on that list. Our bonds perhaps are stronger, as we can send a quick text message wishing someone luck at a job interview, or start a short Google Chat conversation inquiring about someone’s day. All of these communication technologies work to make life more efficient as we multi-task, write papers, surf the web or watch music videos all while staying connected to one another.

This efficiency is fantastic, but when it comes to Project Glass and the Google glasses, how efficient do you want to be in life? Aren’t the best things that happen in life the most unexpected ones? The wrong turn you made which allowed you to find a really cool coffee shop, or the conversation you have with someone while waiting in line because you are a little bit early to an event, or even the stories you gain after wandering around for hours, unsure of where you are or how to get back. It is these unexpected and unplanned events that make life so rich. Google glasses could take that away.

This does not mean that the emergence of this new technology is detremential to life. After all, you have the consumer agency There will be a time in your life when you are heading to an important business meeting and the added security of the glasses will become an aid to your anxiety, ensuring that you will find the location and be on time. Just as you choose to leave your phone in your room, or take a vacation from the internet, you can choose when and where to use the glasses. There is a time and place for everything. So why complain and fight the new technological innovations?

Say what you want about technology, but you can’t ignore how awesome it is. Its emergence has made our lives easier, and provided time to watch countless episodes of Lost or How I Met Your Mother. Do you want to ring your clothes dry or hand-write a letter to your professor and then deliver it to her office to ask for a paper extension? With new technological advances, people believe that technology is taking over processes which result in us not thinking, as we rely on our GPS to guide us instead of looking at a map. To be honest, though, I like asking Siri where the nearest frozen yogurt place is, or knwoing that thanks to my subway app a certain subway line is running on a ten minute delay.

I like being prepared for life and finding places in an unknown area. Just because this new technology has been created, or is in the process of being created, doesn’t mean that you have to implement it into your daily life. Don’t disregard and dismiss these new technological advancements, these technological advancements could make your life better, or even save your life.

The politics of: Footwear

Clara Lefton — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:33:54 +0000

As the saying goes, you don’t know someone until you walk a mile in their shoes. I think that this saying is going a little far. First of all, a mile is a super long distance—unless, of course, you live in Abbey, Buckland or Dickinson, and then that’s just your normal day-to-day walk about campus. Secondly, I think that we Mohos express ourselves through our footwear, and therefore we don’t need to walk a mile in someone’s shoes.

Recently, I was determined to buy new shoes and was trying to decide what kind to get. Did I want something utilitarian? Did I want something that had arch support? Did I want something that was an expression of every facet of my identity in footwear form? Procrastination can be a real struggle sometimes. The list below is what these different types of shoes say to me.

Noa Kasman

Flats

“Fashionable, comfy and oh-so-femme. Perfect.”

Toms

“Some child in an impoverished country is going to look so fly in these.”

Oxfords/Brogues

“I’m jaunty, like to look put-together,and also have an affinity for bowties.” Also, I appreciate the potential “at work/looking put together on the daily” crossover.

Heels

“If I walk in them for long enough, my feet won’t hurt anymore!”

Sandals

“It’s spring, for goodness sake. I don’t care if it’s in the 30s in the morning, if I wear warm-weather clothes the weather will conform to me.”

Sneakers

There are two distinct sneakers talking to me here:

Sneaker A: “Rachel Maddow looked so great in her kicks, I could definitely rock some. Maybe Glamourama has some openings coming up…?”

Sneaker B: “I have to keep a pair of shoes just for the gym, but I also appreciate walking super quickly to class and winning the race.”

Bare Feet

“What’s up, grass? Flowers, how you doing? I love spring. Let’s recline in an Adirondack chair and bask in the sunshine.”

After going through all of these thoughts and looking through seemingly every shoe website, I stumbled upon a Timbuk2 sale. I then decided to buy a messenger bag and just deal with the shoes I have. Now, what do you think a backpack says about you…

Letter to the Editor: printing costs too much

Carolina Neely — Thu, 05 Apr 2012 18:26:17 +0000

To the Mount Holyoke Community:

I think that printing costs too much and is an undue burden on students. While $15 for printing may seem cheap, the price is too damn high.

Firstly, printing should be cheaper, or reduced in cost, if printed double-sided. The rationale that we are presented for printing double-sided is to save the environment, which we all love to do. However, environmental initiatives should have some sort of economic benefit. If printing one page costs five cents, printing two pages on one sheet should reflect the lower paper usage.

Secondly, some students bear a higher cost of printing than other students. I am referring, of course, to the students who do not have access to free printing in their departmental lounges. (The fact that some departments have beautiful, renovated spaces while others still have books about the Soviet Union is beyond me.) Yes, some students do know codes to various free printing havens. If everyone is given the same printing money, everyone should have the same access to printing. Those that do not have access to free printing should be given extra printing money.

Thirdly, some students have to print more than others because of their coursework. For instance, some professors put all of their course materials on ella, using the logic that we can save on printing by reading online. Some of these same professors, though, ask that students bring the readings to class and do not allow them to bring computers, thus forcing them to print out readings. Basing the amount of printing money on the level of a class (with 300-level classes being given more money than 100-levels, for example) would be a way to mitigate this situation.

Money is tight enough in college as it is. Many of us have been in the situation where the choice is between laundry, printing or an extra coffee. Printing is such a part of college that I don’t think that such a choice should exist. The college should reevaluate printing costs to see whether or not our current system is truly best for our community.

Carolina Neely ’15

Letters to the editor appear exactly as they were sent to us. No changes were made to the text, except for the name of the paper, which, as is written in the masthead, is The Mount Holyoke News, not the MHC News. Letters cannot exceed 450 words. All letters must include the writer’s name and telephone number for verification purposes. Unsigned letters will not be printed. Names may be held upon request and with the approval of the Editor-in-Chief. The News reserves the right to decide which materials will be printed. Email submissions to harte22b and murph23s by Wednesday at 5 p.m.

Letter to the editor: ResLife Dean forum

Sophie Strassberg — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 20:15:03 +0000

At the recent forum in Blanchard, called in response to student concerns about lack of consultation and transparency in Residential Life (ResLife), Deans Davis and Banks repeatedly insisted that there have been a) solely nominal changes in residential life and that b) had the changes been greater the larger campus community would have been consulted. As a senior concerned with the legacy of residential life at Mount Holyoke, and as someone who has been a student advisor for two years, I would like to address those claims and help inform the Mount Holyoke community about the actual magnitude of the changes being discussed.

In my research of this matter I have reviewed the job descriptions of current and future roles and consulted current HPs. I have found that, while the change from SA to Community Advisor (CA) is largely nominal, the changes to the HP position, which will become the Senior Community Advisor (SCA) position, are considerable. In my discussion of specific changes below, the terms HP and SA will be used to denote both present and future roles in order to avoid confusion. The following represent some of the larger shifts in the job descriptions between this year and next:

1. There has been a significant decrease in the supervisory responsibilities of HPs. In the new contract, this has been framed as having “functional supervision” of SAs, however, in the forum held by ResLife on February 29th, it was made clear that SAs will no longer report to HPs, but rather to Assistant Directors. Hence, HPs will no longer have the same leadership opportunities they now have. This is an unfortunate loss because many colleges do not offer students such occasions to supervise. Many students considered this to be a beneficial skill-building aspect of working for Mount Holyoke ResLife.

2. An “On-call” system has been created that requires several student staff per night to be on call Sunday-Thursday from 9pm-2am. During this time, these students must be “on campus and accessible (no class) and holding the on-call cell phone.” They will be responsible for 5-8 halls and will respond in the event of an emergency.

3. The “On duty” system has also been changed. Currently, SAs and HPs are required to be on duty on select Fridays and Saturdays throughout the semester from 10pm-2am. Next year, there will be an addition hour of duty (9pm-2am). Furthermore, students will be responsible for 2-4 halls, split with one other student staff member.

4. HPs will serve on “one campus committee (Green Living Council, Conduct Review Board, etc…) as well as one Residential Life committee (Recognition, Staff selection, and Staff Training) and/or work on a departmental collateral assignment (resource room inventory, eco-reps liaison, etc.)” This is a brand new policy and represents a significant time commitment for HPs as well a substantial shift in visibility for residential life.

5. The new positions will require all SAs and HPs to stay on campus until the closing of the dorms for both the December and May closings. Currently they are only required to work one of these closings.

My point here is not to critique the changes themselves, but the way they were made. I fervently hope that these changes are a positive force next year. I believe that there are and have been—even before this year—shortcomings in ResLife that need attention. However, despite the need for alterations in ResLife, the changes for next year are not nominal. The argument that the student body did not need to be consulted because they were solely nominal is invalid. It is important that the administration address the issue of student voice. At the forum, the Deans asserted that we would have been contacted if these had been substantial changes that would directly affect community life. They are, and we were not consulted.

If the new titles are to include the words “community advisor,” the implication that these changes don’t affect the community doesn’t ring true. We understand that we are not consulted about every matter on campus, but would like the administration to know that large-scale hierarchical changes like these should not be made without student input. Mount Holyoke is known for fostering strong women who have a voice and we refuse to be silent about this.

Sophie Strassberg ’12

Letter to the Editor: Student shooting in Ohio

Cara Murphy — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 20:10:00 +0000

On Feb. 27, in a town a couple of minutes away from where I grew up, a 17-year old boy entered a high school cafeteria with a handgun and shot at students. At the time I write this, three young men are dead as a result of the shooting; Daniel Parmertor, Russell King and Demetrius Hewlen’s families all must bear the sudden and violent loss of a son, hopefully the other two wounded will survive.

The shooter, TJ Lane, 17, did not attend Chardon High School–he attended a private institution that specializes in educating at-risk students. Lane was separated from his peers and there is evidence of mental unsoundness and violent emotions in writings he posted on his Facebook page. One of his poems describes the societal rejection and institutional repression Lane might have experienced and ends with the narrator killing his oppressors while claiming divine reason.

Owing to all of the shootings we have been forced to witness, I find it reasonable to say that anyone paying attention to the news for the last decade and a half can recognize certain common characteristics among the shooters. Often the shooter was said to be a loner, of sorts, may have come from a turbulent family background and displayed symptoms of mental illness and many have left behind morbid poems, journal entries and letters. Needless to say, Lane fits into this category of individuals.

I ask to you, how is it acceptable that an under-aged person who has to be removed from the public education system and enrolled in a school for at risk students has access to a gun?

Currently it is legal for U.S. citizens ages 18 and older to buy a rifle or shotgun and citizens 21 and older to purchase handguns, provided they are not convicted felons or mentally ill, from licensed dealers after a 24-hour background check. Buying a weapon at a gun show eliminates the need for the background check. It is legal to sell a gun privately between individuals, however this practice is highly unregulated.

The National Rifle Association is among the largest lobbies in the American political scene. According to www.opensecrets.org, in the 2010 election cycle, the NRA spent $7.2 million on independent expenditures at the federal level. This number does not include any money spent at the state level, which is equally as high. In May 2011, the Republican-led government in Ohio passed into law a bill legalizing the possession of firearms in bars, restaurants and stadiums. This move was applauded by the NRA and other gun advocates–they like the idea of people going into a bar or football stadium with a concealed weapon! The 2nd Amendment was included in the Constitution at a time when national defense involved small militias banding together for the sake of defending territory from natives and the British, and when a great portion of the population lived off the land to survive, hunting and farming for food. Guns were necessary to hunt and then would be used in national defense in time of need. This is the logic behind the two-tiered gun laws in the country: teenagers should be able to hunt and shoot at tin cans, but handguns are reserved for adults to kill each other.

So when a kid marches into a cafeteria and executes their classmates with a handgun, what does Charlton Heston, head of the NRA have to say? “This is a child issue, not a gun issue.” Apparently guns don’t kill people, kids do.

To anyone sick to the stomach from hearing that a student shot up his school, or that a madman tried to assassinate a congresswoman or that another innocent stranger was murdered on a street corner in Downtown, USA, stand up against the violence. Together, regular people have the power to change the discourse of the American political scene. It takes a lot of phone calls to Representatives, letters to Senators and informed voting, but it can happen and is entirely worth it. Candidates should not be afraid to vote for what they feel is right. If they have the support of their constituents it should not matter how much money special interest groups pour into politics, our officials can do the right thing.

Let the victims not be forgotten, lest they died for nothing. My thoughts tonight are with the people of Chardon, Ohio and my hopes tomorrow are for a better America.

Cara Murphy ’14

Standing with Barnard sisters to Columbia insults

Louise Opel — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 20:08:21 +0000

Last month, Rush Limbaugh called Georgetown University law student Sandra Fluke a “slut” and a “prostitute” and demanded that she produce a sex tape for public consumption saying, “post the videos online so we can all watch.” Limbaugh exploded at Fluke after she testified in support of a federal mandate of health care coverage for contraception.

Over 50 advertisers pulled out from his program and President Obama called Sandra Fluke to offer his support. Obama said he was thinking of his daughters’ future in American discourse when he reached out to Fluke. “All decent folks can agree that the remarks that were made don’t have any place in public discourse,” the President explained. “We want to send a message to all our young people that being part of the democracy involves argument and disagreements and debate.”

Obama reinforced this affirmation when he announced shortly thereafter that he would speak to “some of America’s next generation of women leaders” at Barnard College’s commencement. When Columbia’s undergraduate magazine broke the news on its online outlet, “Bwog,” readers commented with congratulations, disappointment and a substantial amount of hate. A number of anonymous commenters referred to Barnard as “Barnyard.” Others called Barnard students “cum dumpsters,” and told Barnard women “to shut their jizz holes.”

Columbia President Lee C. Bollinger said that the cruel comments “reflect hardly more than just a few people” and excused less hateful comments as a “completely understandable” symptom of disappointment. Barnard President Deborah Spar chalked the vitriol up to “19-year-olds writing at 4:30 in the morning.”

Students of Barnard and Columbia took a harder tack. The Columbia College Student Council went on the record that they are “outraged” and “embarrassed.” The Columbia Spectator reported that a Barnard student’s online petition against “these blatant demonstrations of sexism and misogyny” racked up over 700 signatures. Facebook groups called students to action against the “anonymous mud-slinging” and rallied more than a thousand online supporters.

The responses to these parallel events shocks me. I am delighted that my peers in higher education came out strongly against the denigration of Barnard students and the implication that they do not deserve the honor of President Obama’s presence at their graduation. However, the administrative response unsettles me. Our nation’s President came out firmly against Limbaugh’s hate speech, yet when the perpetrators were anonymous students, the response from administrators was tepid.

Administrators facilitate the communities that we students build and lead as adults. Our campuses are of national importance in and of themselves. We already lead beyond the confines of schools as students and graduates. I call on administrators to hold us accountable as adults within our own communities in our successes and shortcomings. To write as a 19 year-old at 4 a.m. or feel the sting of disappointment makes us no less liable for the impact of our words and actions.

I call on students to relate to each other openly, respectfully and supportively and continue to hold each other to high standards. When we hide behind the anonymity of online forums, we give administrators and the world at large every reason to coddle and condescend to us. Take responsibility, even on the Internet, or we will never be taken seriously.