Published since 1915 by the students
of Xavier University
Published since 1915 by the students
of Xavier University
— STAFF EDITORIAL —
As we return to the daily grind of classes after a far too short Thanksgiving break, we here at the Newswire realized something very disturbing. The more we talked about how much work we will have in the next few weeks, the more we realized that, during a time when we should be enjoying our friends, family and the Xavier community, each of us will be bogged down with a tremendous amount of academic work. Instead of taking time to make presents for our family or make memories with our friends, we will be staying in and reading, writing, studying and preparing presentations.
We’re already past midterm grades. Shouldn’t over half of our homework be done? Why is it that the first twelve weeks of class only seem to be a slow preparation for these next few days of work-crunching, coffee-chugging, high stress scrambling towards an overwhelming end of the semester?
We at the Newswire know how to pace ourselves. We do not sit at our computers until 12:45 a.m. on a Tuesday night simply thinking and talking about how to write news articles. We perceive what’s going on around campus, think about it, take notes and efficiently work throughout the evening to produce a coherent, organized and informative paper. We’ve had twelve weeks worth of classes. Why hasn’t the academic community been respectful enough to respect our time and pace themselves with our workload?
Understandably, there will always be some sort of crunch to catch up on procrastinated homework, and not every student is a responsible planner who always comes to class prepared. But, every student on this campus is a student of more than simply dry, required core classes and some generalized major-oriented courses.
Believe it or not, we are first and foremost human beings with basic needs. One of those needs is to enjoy the short amount of irresponsible youth time we have left. In the classroom, we need to be serious about studying. But outside the classroom, we need to be allowed to be serious about playing.
Xavier prides itself on having a supposedly happy, wholesome community filled with energetic and enthusiastic students, yet these students turn into dragging, caffeinated, glazed-over shells when so much pressure is placed on them from so many outside forces. Xavier also prides itself on a supposedly diverse and tolerant community, yet the entire week of finals cuts into the celebration of Hanukkah and the last day of finals is a mere four days before Christmas day. Assigning a great deal of work during the three days of Thanksgiving is simply inconsiderate, but hindering celebrations of love and sharing that come from Hanukkah and Christmas is unjustifiably careless.
We hope the student population will allow yourselves to take an impromptu trip, watch a good movie, exercise, read for fun, write your best friend a stupid letter, make your roommate a ridiculous craft, do whatever helps to keep you balanced.
We are not advocating that each student play hooky and throw her or his academic career away. We are simply reminding the Xavier population that, despite what it may seem in classes for the next couple weeks, there is more to life than simply tests, papers and grades. Take a minute to breathe, relax and make this the most joyous time of your year.
Matt Finger
Op-Ed Editor
Happy turkey day! Wait, what? That’s not a real holiday…Oh, you mean Thanksgiving. Right. For a moment there, I thought you were making things up. Instead, you’re just turning a meaningful holiday into an excuse to gain weight and get drunk on table wine. Awesome.
I mean, I’m not trying to pick on you stuffing-munching, gravy-dripping, pie-loving gluttons out there. Everyone loves Thanksgiving food. But do we really need to focus the entire celebration on dinner? It seems to me that we’ve sort of stopped giving thanks for things other than the 12 pound bird on the table.
You’re probably sitting there saying, “Whoa whoa whoa there Finger, settle down a bit. Of course we have lots to be thankful for.” Unfortunately I didn’t hear you because your mouth was full, so I’m going to continue to hope for the best.
It’s not just Thanksgiving that we as Americans have forsaken. What about Memorial Day? There’s a parade, maybe some beer, and American flags on the telephone poles and at the graves of veterans. What else could there be? Well, a lot more considering that Memorial Day, or Decoration Day as it was originally called, started sometime in the late 1860s as a day to decorate the graves of the dead soldiers who fought in the Civil War.
Yes, to an extent we still honor soldiers who have died, but not nearly to the level for which the holiday was intended. It seems now that very few actually celebrate the original cause in a traditional fashion, and it is usually the veterans who do so, since our generation does not have a great conflict with which to relate and remember.
How about Labor Day? Apparently you’re not supposed to wear white after it, but what else? Considering that Labor Day was created to celebrate the achievements of American workers, coupled with the fact that our generation doesn’t really know anything about hard labor, I would say there is nothing else. At least not until we all get jobs in textile mills and factories.
Merry Christmas! Wait, am I allowed to say that? Oh, well I wouldn’t want to offend anyone by wishing them a merry Christmas, and maybe even a happy new year.
I guess instead of spreading Christmas cheer I’ll just deck the halls with bells of holly, fa la la. Right? Oh, bells of holly are out? How about impersonal, mass produced, useless objects (tickle this Elmo) that we sell to the greedy American public in order to turn a profit? That’s still in, right? Good, I thought so.
Hey, and another thing. Not even a week has passed since our tryptophan-induced ecstasy, and already it seems as though Santa Claus has weaseled his way into department stores everywhere. Yes, we are Americans and everything we do MUST be in excess. Moderation is not in our vocabulary.
But do we really need to start celebrating (by celebrating, I mean decorating with tacky elves and reindeer) so soon? I mean, my Norwoodian neighbors barely had time to take down their big inflatable ghost thing in their front yard before society prompted them to put up their big inflatable Santa and icicle lights.
My point is to stop feeding the Christmas monster, it’s fat enough as it is. Maybe get a real job in the shipyard, and remember that people die for you. And be thankful for something other than turkey and football, like maybe the fact that you don’t go to Miami.
10 items under $10 at the bookstore
1. Class Year Shotglass $3.95
This shotglass has separate fill lines for drinkers ranging from freshmen (the shortest) to alumni (the tallest). This glass was likely responsible for the unconcscious alum found outside of Bellarmine in 2004.
2. Xavier Dog Bone $6.95
The ideal gift for the roommate who has an annoying habit of chewing on your Cheez-its. Also, I’m told this girl in my philosophy class gnaws on these in order to get her jaw in shape for her constant blithering.
3. Xavier Dog Tags $4.95
These are kind of cool, but you are a total wuss if you pay money for dog tags. If you weren’t a total baby, you would join ROTC and get dog tags for free. Congress might even give you substandard body armor!
4. Xavier Ping Pong Balls $9.95
Ever had a hideous hair get stuck to your beer pong ball? The Xavier logo on these balls magically repels loose hair. At least they must, because it’d be ridiculous to charge $10 for non-magical ping pong balls.
5. Xavier Air Freshener $3.95
At least one person on this campus desperately needs this product: the guy who sits next to me in polysci. I can’t make him shower between leap years, but I can damn sure surround his desk with these.
6. Xavier Playing Cards $7.95
You know what card game is about to become really popular? Texas Hold ‘Em. When this game catches on, it will be televised nationally and may even be the focus of a James Bond movie. You heard it here first.
7. Blue Blob doll $8.00
The perfect gift for those who can’t get enough of the androgynous clump of fur that wobbles around during basketball games. Also, it looks stunningly like a blue chicken nugget, only with less trans fat.
8. Xavier Dog Leash $8.95
Have a friend with a bad habit of drinking too much and becoming overly friendly with less than attractive members of the opposite gender? Give the gift that keeps them from getting!
9. Xavier Beads $1.29/$5.95
These beads come in the regular variety and the deluxe version, which are shaped like miniature basketballs. Whatever you do, just make sure you don’t buy these beads as a gift for a female relative.
10. Blue Book $.45
Final exams this semester take place close enough to Christmas that you can get away with getting your friends supplies for their finals. Also, there are only so many things in the bookstore for under $10.
Colleen Bott
Contributing Writer
In an FBI Uniform Crime Report from 2000, it was estimated that a rape is reported once every five minutes. According to a study done in 2000 by the United States Department of Justice, 20 to 25 of women will be raped some time during college.
However, the American Medical Association reported in 1996 that about 65 percent of rapes go unreported. Many college students are unaware of the definitions of rape, sexual harassment and assault. Xavier’s advocate program, along with other groups on campus such as Take Back the Night, Residence Life and the newly-formed Women’s Center, work to educate students about topics ranging from sexual violence to assault on campus.
Dr. Carolyn Jenkins, professor of social work and head of the Xavier advocate program, talks about what has been done on campus to promote education. “First of all, the advocate program started three years ago and we have done a good bit to educate people on campus and in the past two years have had someone come in and talk to incoming freshmen after Manresa. We’ve also had other speakers throughout the year come in and talk to us about other topics involving rape and sexual harassment,” she said.
Senior Jessie Fullenkamp, a social work major with a gender and diversity studies minor who is involved in campus events promoting education on the topics of rape and violence, feels that education is essential to changing the culture.
“Considering the violence (rape) against women that has always existed on our campus, it is crucial for every woman and man to understand the definition of rape and the socialization that causes men to express anger and power in unacceptable ways,” she said. “The recent events brought to light on our campus should not be the only factor that brings us to a better understanding of violence, but knowing that we are all affected by rape can empower us to stop rape.”
Jenkins agrees that education is key to changing campus culture.
“There needs to be a lot more education. We need to reach every student on campus. Too many times people think of education as educating women, but men need to know what rape is because I think part of the culture has always been that upperclassmen or other men have spread the word that ‘even if she doesn’t want to have sex, she probably does,’” Jenkins said.
According to the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network (RAINN), rape is defined as: “…forced sexual intercourse, including vaginal, anal or oral penetration. Penetration may be by a body part or an object.” Although legal definitions vary from state to state, an important element of all of them is that the sex is non-consensual. This is confusing for many college students due to common misconceptions as to what defines informed consent.
The University of Southern Maine provides these criteria to help students define effective informed consent:
• Informed, freely and actively (not passively) given, mutually understandable words or actions which indicate a willingness to participate in any or each mutually agreed upon sexual activity.
• Not obtained through the use of force, threat (actual or implied), intimidation, coercion or fraud.
• Not given under the influence of alcohol, drugs or other intoxicants which have impaired the ability of a man or woman to appraise his or her own sexual acts.
• Consent is based on choice.
• Consent is active, not passive.
• Consent to one level of sexual activity does not mean consent to another.
• Consent to sex or sex acts one time does not mean consent for another time.
• Consent to sex or sex acts with one person does not mean consent with someone else.
• Silence does not mean consent.
• Sexually taking advantage of someone who is asleep, unconscious, confused, intoxicated or impaired in any way, is not consent.
Students can contact the hotline at 513-872-9259 and request a Xavier advocate. Jenkins hopes that members of the Xavier community continue to feel empowered to come forward.
“Students need to understand it’s not whether or not a woman says no, it’s whether or not a woman says yes,” Jenkins said. “That means if they’ve been drinking, she cannot give informed consent. The advocate program has been rather busy this year, and that’s a good thing because women have always hesitated coming forward and we’re glad they feel they can do so at Xavier University.”
by James P. Konerman, M.D.
Medical Director/Physician, McGrath Health & Counseling Center
Coping with the holidays!
The holiday season can be a time of joy, sadness and/or stress. Try to make the most out of your holidays. The Centers For Disease Control (CDC) recommends the following (with some of my editorial comments):
• Exercise! Guys, that doesn’t mean switching channels with the remote and ladies, that doesn’t mean power shopping. Work out! Physical activity reduces stress!
• Cut back on TV viewing and video game playing. Develop some new “low tech” family traditions. Cut down a Christmas tree together. Play board games. Take walks with each other.
• Turn off the cell phones and computers! Spend 10 minutes each day in the classroom of silence. Meditate or pray.
• Avoid the urge to “stuff thy face.” Overeating and crashing on the couch in a food coma isn’t the way to go. Control portions even if you want everything on the table. Avoid “wasted” calories, from alcohol to fatty foods. Your holiday goal isn’t to eat enough to play offensive tackle for the Bengals!
• Be careful preparing holiday foods. Don’t give “Uncle Scissorhands” the electric knife. Carve with the proper tools. Use proper oven gear to prevent burns.
• Wash, wash, wash those hands. Keep raw food (especially meat) away from foods so there’s no bacterial contamination. Cook foods thoroughly and refrigerate promptly.
McGrath Health & Counseling Center
(513) 745-3022
Matthew Finger 
Op-Ed Editor
Pat Stevenson
Asst. Op-Ed Editor
The Xavier Newswire
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