Published since 1915 by the students
of Xavier University
— STAFF EDITORIAL —
Flying solo
Traditionally, columns about Valentine’s Day attack the commercialism of the holiday. In reality, these attacks are thinly veiled ways of saying, “I don’t have a girlfriend/boyfriend so Valentine’s Day reminds me that I’m a loser” or “I’m too cheap to spend money on my significant other.”
Not here. This column will investigate the many benefits to V-Day, and in fact prove why the naysayers are prohibiting the blossoming of our culture.
One of the major benefits of Valentine’s Day is the massive amounts of chocolate which become available. At the Newswire, we believe that Americans do not consume enough chocolate. Why else would we be at war? People obviously have an intense craving for some dark, thick mystery substance, and they’re looking underground in the Middle East because it is not prominently displayed on our store shelves (little do they know that chocolate and oil are really nothing alike).
Valentine’s Day clearly solves this problem. What’s more, all the cutely shaped chocolates come in cute little wrappers with cute little sayings such as, “Time is a gift to give yourself for friendship.” Why can we only obtain this treasure once a year? It should be available at all times!
The sale of flowers booms during February, which is great, because we at the Newswire find that this month tends to be pretty barren in terms of vegetation. In fact, it would be even better if all the recipients of rose bouquets would plant those roses outside. Maybe it would even inspire the other plants to come out.
Also, greeting cards receive unprecedented unnecessary attention for Valentine’s Day as men everywhere scramble to Hallmark stores trying to find the “perfect card.” Nothing says “I love you” like someone else’s clever saying does.
In truth, the benefits of this Valentine’s Day holiday are so numerous that we at the Newswire think it would behoove this country greatly to have a similar holiday for each month. It might actually motivate all those single losers to get their butts into gear and work on finding that special someone instead of complaining about their inability to do so in the past.
However, in all seriousness, there is something pure and good at the heart of this over-commercialized and fluffy holiday, and that is the message of love. At the risk of sounding like a ’60s peace anthem, what the world needs now IS love. And while Valentine’s Day does not exactly promote a global reaching out, it promotes focusing on the people in our lives who really matter and who sometimes get ignored.
You don’t need to be dating anyone to embrace this holiday, either. Take the time to remind your friends why you call them that. Besides, getting candy and a card with your favorite cartoon characters wishing you a cheesy greeting never hurt anyone. Unless of course you were the person everyone forgot. In which case the Newswire wants you to be our Valentine. Love you!
A Piece of Opinion: Tasty chocolate love
Matthew Finger
Op-Ed Editor
Wednesday is Valentine’s Day, and I think we all know what that means: candy! But more importantly, love. Oh, love, the original four letter word, epitomized every February 14 with the clockwork distribution of flowers and jewelry and little boxes of chocolates with cards dotted ‘XOXO.’
But is that really love? Is there any victory at all left in V-Day? I’d argue that there is not. It seems to me that the whole concept of love is being lost, swallowed by a sea of expectations and disappointments.
We all expect love to be pretty and set with diamonds, but that’s not the case. Valentine’s Day has done a tremendous job of isolating love to the relationship of two people (or three, whatever you’re in to).
Not only that, it has also given us a convenient time to be in love, and subsequently express said emotion. There is no V-Day +1, there’s only Thursday. The rest of the year’s emotions are secondary to this one “special” day that isn’t really special, just expensive.
What I’m saying is that love, arguably the most powerful emotion conceived, comes in a prepackaged box from Hallmark. Despite how delicious the truffles that lay beneath the shiny wrapper are, that is not love.
Now, I know you’re probably feeling shocked and lost at this printed epiphany, but don’t worry, it’s not as bad as it sounds. I’m not saying that love on the relationship level doesn’t exist, nor am I saying that buying your pookie-bear pretty things isn’t nice, I’m just trying to point out that there’s lots to love ALL the time, but just someone else on one day.
For example, I love a whole bunch of stuff. I love Chipotle, maybe not on an intimate level, but love nonetheless. I love my parents and my friends. I even love the Dorothy Day House and everyone associated with it, even though the feeling might not be reciprocated. I love lamp. I love my roommate’s mom and the cookies and baked goods that accompany her. I love my other roommate’s sister. I adore snow days, and so do you. Furthermore, I love little animals, and sometimes big animals. But that’s just to name a few. The point is that we don’t need one day, or even one person, to be in love.
We certainly don’t need candies and cards and stuffed bears to prove that love either. So maybe after the candies, dinners and wine are all gone and the candles have been snuffed and maybe after your Barry White CD finishes, think about all the other things and days in your life that are love-worthy because, to quote the quintessential love movie (“Love Actually”), “If you look for it, I’ve got a sneaky feeling you’ll find that love actually is all around.”
The science of intolerance
Patrick Stevenson
Asst. Op-Ed Editor
If there’s one thing that unites us as Americans today, it’s the belief that Tom Cruise is crazy. Hell, the American Dialect Society made the word “Cruisazy” one of the runner-ups to the ubiquitous “truthiness” in the 2005 Word of the Year Awards.
Why is Tom Cruise considered crazy? Some would say it’s because he infamously jumped on a couch because of his love for Katie Holmes. I don’t totally buy this, as I routinely hop on couches for various reasons, like when the Pittsburgh Pirates hit home runs (on a related note, I am insane).
The main reason most people classify Tom Cruise as crazy is because he is a member of the Church of Scientology. In today’s society, calling someone a Scientologist can be loosely translated to saying “that person is freaking insane.”
Why has Scientology become synonymous with craziness? It could be because of the wildly popular and publicized “South Park” episode that lambastes the religion, though throughout its history, “South Park” has absolutely killed any and all religions such as Christianity (“Jesus and Pals”), Judaism (“Passion of the Jew”) and Islam (“Cartoon Wars”).
The reason Scientology is universally denounced as a crazy and stupid religion is simply because mostly everyone can get behind the idea that Scientology is crazy and stupid.
There is nothing that we as Americans love more than ganging up on a group of people and proclaiming ourselves to be superior (i.e. institutionalized racism).
Doing this allows us to reaffirm to ourselves that we don’t occupy the lowest caste of society, which is a fairly basic American instinct (“separate but equal,” anyone?). We need to know that there are people out there who are inferior to us in some way and we need society to corroborate this belief.
Today, one of the groups of people we have decided we are better than are Scientologists. Christians and Jews have decided that their completely logical creation myth about naked people, talking snakes and a fruit-hoarding God is so vastly superior to the absurd creation myth of Scientology (because after all, there has never been an illogical or bizarre creation epic in the history of the world until Scientology, right?).
The prevailing attitudes toward Scientology in America are not unlike the attitude of an assimilated, angry, envious schoolyard mob playing dodgeball against a small group of freckled, scrawny rich kids. The odd part about everyone’s hatred toward Scientologists is that the vast majority of Americans personally know exactly zero Scientologists. It’s so much easier to degrade when looking down on imaginary people, isn’t it?
I’m not a Scientologist. In fact, I have no real idea what my religious persuasion is. At the moment, I’m mostly worshipping Sidney Crosby of the Pittsburgh Penguins (as previously stated, I am, in fact, insane). But from what I understand about Scientology, many of its followers achieve some sort of inner peace from their practice of the religion, and in the end, isn’t that the singular purpose of religion?
If practicing Scientology makes certain people happy, then who are we to mock and chastise them for their religious beliefs? Maybe Tom Cruise isn’t crazy, maybe he’s just happy. Maybe we’re not superior to him, maybe we’re just jealous and intolerant.
Xtremely disappointed
This past weekend, our Xavier men’s basketball team traveled to Washington, DC to play the George Washington Colonials. My parents were in attendance at this game and what they told me about the atmosphere at the game made me ashamed of what goes on here at Xavier.
When my parents arrived over an hour before the game, the entire GW student section was already filled to capacity. What made this even more amazing is that GW was in the midst of a two game losing streak.
Even after being blown out by us, their students stuck around until the game’s end, leading GW’s coach Karl Hobbs to thank them for not giving up on the team. That is what I call dedication to a program. Not like our bandwagon fans here at Xavier.
I ask you, fellow students, why can’t we show the dedication that other schools have for their sports programs? I understand there are some people who don’t care about sports, but our official student section is only 750 seats. Seven hundred fifty students out of a total of 3879 undergraduates, all of whom can receive free tickets, is only 19 percent of our undergrad population. That is not an outrageous figure at all.
Xavier students need to show up earlier for games. I’m not asking for an hour and a half, but only for 30-45 minutes. That shows the team that you care about them and it helps them get psyched.
I am using the basketball team as the main example, but that goes for other sports as well. I have been at games for other sports where only five students have shown up. How do you think the players feel?
If nothing else, consider this: a portion of your tuition covers the cost of tickets. If you don’t take the opportunity to get these tickets and support your school, you are just wasting your money.
Mike Pierce
Class of ‘08
Med X files
James P. Konerman, M.D.
Medical Director/Physician McGrath Health & Counseling Center
Meningitis Update
Recently, a Miami University student acquired meningococcal meningitis. Meningitis is an infection of the covering of the brain. Patients get a high fever, stiff neck, headache, confusion and sometimes a rash.
Bacterial meningitis can potentially be fatal but is treatable with antibiotics when caught early. Seek treatment early; time matters greatly. The most common bacteria that can cause meningitis on a college campus is meningococcus.
Bacterial meningitis is still very rare (1 in 100,000 incidence). But college freshman in dorms have a slightly higher risk. It is recommended that you get a meningitis vaccine when you start college. It spreads by close contact (not through air). The bacteria do not live outside the body for long.
People who come in close contact with someone who develops meningitis are given a dose of antibiotic to reduce the spread. As opposed to bacterial meningitis, viral meningitis has a shorter and less severe course. It’s not usually life threatening. Close contacts do not require treatment for viral meningitis.
McGrath Health &
Counseling Center
(513) 745-3022
Matthew Finger 
Op-Ed Editor
Pat Stevenson
Asst. Op-Ed Editor
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