— STAFF EDITORIAL —
Born to blog?
Online pioneers Tim O’Reilly and Jimmy Wales created quite a controversy within the internet community recently by proposing guidelines to monitor online blogging and discussion.
Their proposals were prompted by anonymous threats and violent comments that attacked blogger Kathy Sierra, a friend of O’Reilly.
Such threats are often ignored by authorities because they are much harder to trace. While many argue that this process of “cyberbullying” is quite common, Sierra does not believe such threats should be so easily dismissed.
At the Newswire, we can understand exactly why hateful comments are so prevalent in online dialogue. Because of the anonymity and impersonality of the Internet it is much easier to be harsh and show no remorse for your actions. Admit it, even you’ve probably said some things on AIM that you wouldn’t say in person.
People should be forced to own up to what they say, and to be held accountable to their words. If you’re not comfortable putting your name on it because of the way you’re attacking someone then maybe you consider keeping your mouth shut (in this case, your fingers off the keyboard).
O’Reilly, a conference promoter and book publisher, posted a list of recommendations on his Web site, including eliminating anonymous posting and ignoring the internet “trolls” who harass bloggers.
The Newswire supports O’Reilly and Wales’ effort to bring online dialogue to a civil level, but recognizes that different blogs demand different levels of monitoring.
For instance, in a blog that is intended to be a public forum for discussion, the owner should not have the power to delete posts with disagreeable content because then the blog is no longer an open forum but instead a biased viewpoint.
However, owners of personal blogs have a right to protect themselves and their families from comments that are cruel.
O’Reilly and Wales are proposing a system of logos that bloggers would put on their Web sites to indicate what level of speech they would be willing to tolerate. This way, commenters would know in advance if their posts would likely be deleted.
The opposition argues that these guidelines are a form of censorship and a violation of first amendment rights. The Newswire feels that as long as blog commenters are allowed to remain anonymous, then their remarks also deserve to be silenced at the discretion of the blog owner.
Additionally, as long as the blog is under ownership of a person, that person should have some degree control over the content. Authors are allowed to choose which reviews are quoted in subsequent editions of the book, so bloggers should have a right to choose which comments are viewed and which aren’t.
Denying this right on the grounds of protecting free speech raises some very concerning issues for the Newswire. Does this mean that students don’t have a right to delete wall-posts off of their Facebook accounts because that would be censorship?
It’s no question that in the realm of cyberspace, free speech is hazy, but we should be able to maintain some level of decency and respect. Besides, the opponents could always get their own blog.
Work on the workout facility
Mads Lafave
Editorial Columnist
“Hey.”
“Hey, how’s it goin’?”
Click.
Crank.
Oh, the familiar sounds of Xavier’s own O’Connor Rec Center.
As I enter through the questionable turnstyle, I suppress my natural instinct to head upstairs and I confidently stride towards the weight room, brushing aside any preconceived notions of where I should, or should not, be working out. Clad in my typical workout clothes and messy ponytail, every head turns as I enter.
After a brief moment of false hope that I’m having a good hair day and a fleeting fear of boogers, I quickly realize that instead, it is because I am a girl. As LAME as that sounds, it is true. Let’s just get it out there in the open…the O’Connor downstairs weight room is intimidating.
I know that I am not alone in this view. Females and skinny/fat boys need to stop pretending they like the rusty 80s machines upstairs; who uses a rowing machine these days anyway?
I observe the scene. Among the grunts, there are a few kids really working out and a lot of messing around.
Freshman Michael Duffy said that he encounters not only females who are intimidated by this area, but males as well.
So why is this? It is clear that the dudes in the room are aware of the female intimidation factor (with the exception of an anonymous sophomore who firmly believes girls would not be interested in the machines so as not to accumulate muscle and instead to “keep their figure”), but my guess is they wouldn’t mind having a few chicks around for motivation.
Plus, who would be against anything at all that may increase the hotness factor of Xavier students in general (yes, girls specifically…so I hear...)? Jody Westerheide, a freshman employee of the Rec, when asked if she ever went into the weight room, stated, “No, I don’t know how [to lift weights]. I was never taught in high school.”
What is the point of having a weight room when there is no professional there to teach us how to use it? The studs will continue to get more studly, and the weak/fat/skinny will continue on that slippery slope, thus widening the gap even further.
Student manager Kate Sigafoos explained that the Rec’s downfalls are predominantly due to a big- time lack of Xavier funding. While Xavier did pay for the new equipment in the weight room, the Rec runs on funding solely from outside memberships, aerobics classes and rentals. Oh, and towels and lockers. Yeah, I learned that too; we can purchase a towel or locker rental for $1 daily.
After hangin’ with the boys, I came to realize that the guys that work out in this male-dominated domain are just as lame as the ones that don’t. It is not as intimidating as it seems. The kids who are intimidated are intimidated by the meatheads who only care about themselves anyway. So, get over it.
The fact is, yes, it’d be nice if the weight room was bigger/less secluded/etc., but it’s not. Unless you can convince Father Graham to give them more money for improvements, it will stay that way.
So stop using the intimidation factor as an excuse, and just do it. Together, we can convince the outside world that Xavier kids can be good looking…really, really, ridiculously good looking.
Oh, and side-note from the Rec staff: STOP PUKING IN THE WEIGHT ROOM! Apparently we’ve reached double digits with this occurrence this year. And could we at least get some tunes to workout to? iPods are so anti-social.
“What it means to be a woman”
As the largest programming entity on campus, SAC is always looking for feedback (both positive and negative) about every aspect of our events. After hearing about some of the reservations that members of the Xavier community had about Women’s Week, we felt that it was necessary to provide some additional information which will hopefully clarify the logic behind these specific events and allay any and all concerns.
As for the events themselves, SAC provided three programs for students that we felt touched upon various definitions of what a woman can be. Indeed there are many aspects to being a woman and we in no way can fulfill all of these, so the committee decided to touch upon just three. The titles of each event were chosen very carefully.
The Girl Power Strongest Woman Competition was an event to show that physical strength is not limited only to men. “Girl Power” is a term of empowerment that grew in popularity and significance during the mid to late 1990s to the early 2000s.
The Oxford English Dictionary defines “Girl Power” as a phrase that is a “self-reliant attitude among girls and young women manifested in ambition, assertiveness and individualism.” We felt this was an appropriate title for a Strongest Woman Competition.
The event “Girls’ Night” was an event whose purpose was to share a common social experience while participating in a group of adults of the same gender.
The title “Girls’ Night” was chosen because we felt this was the most common term used when a group of women get together to enjoy each other’s company in a relaxed, social setting. The board had considered the term “Ladies’ Night,” but felt most people associate that particular term with going to a bar or club when women are often given alcohol at a discounted rate.
Games and activities during this night were supposed to be fun and have a nostalgic feel. We were very happy with the nearly one hundred people that came out to this event.
The Wonder Women Speakers event highlighted three professional women who have achieved great success in their chosen career fields. For the Wonder Women Speakers event, we felt this title was more than fitting.
The Wonder Woman character was the first female comic book character to achieve both commercial and critical success in a genre that was dominated by male superheroes.
In regards to the “Chicks In Charge” T-shirts, this idea was inspired by Procter and Gamble. We learned that female employees at the manager level and above have attended informal dinners that they themselves refer to as “Chicks In Charge.” These T-shirts were never produced or distributed due to time constraints.
It is nearly impossible to create events for every aspect of every woman, and we had hoped that other groups or departments would have joined us in programming for this month. It was never our intention to categorize women, but rather to provide a variety of programs for students to choose to attend.
We sincerely apologize if any members of the Xavier community were offended. However, we feel that the events and titles of said events, which incidentally were planned and organized primarily by female members of the board, were more than appropriate when celebrating the unique and multi-faceted definition of what it means to be a woman.
Thanks to everyone for their feedback. We, of course, would encourage more student collaboration, input and attendance for all the events next year.
Kailin Borton
Class of ‘08 Cate Guentter
Class of ‘08 J.B. Bailey
SAC Advisor
Mfreke's Funhouse
Mfreke Akpaninyie
Click to enlarge.
Darren LaCour
Op-Ed Editor
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