— STAFF EDITORIALS —
Shuttle shenanigans
Few people would disagree that there is significant room for improvement with the Xavier shuttle system. However, no one seems that motivated to actually improve the system.
While investigating the shuttle system over the past week, it has become rather clear to the Newswire that there is not one specific person who can say that he or she is in charge of overseeing all aspects of the shuttle.
We think that this is a significant problem. The plethora of people who manage different aspects of the shuttle seem rather unclear as to what their specific duties are.
In fact, the current shuttle committee is so disjointed that a key member was completely unaware of the prominent role Gallagher Student Center Director Jim Miller plays in the shuttle administration.
Since responsibilities appear to be unclear, problems with the shuttle can simply slip through the cracks instead of being dealt with directly.
Shuttle management should be a main priority of an administrator, instead of just one responsibility among many. This needs to be someone’s job as the shuttle is important not just because it is convenient, but because it is a service that increases campus safety.
The shuttle is not and shoud not be a chauffer service, but it does help to ensure the safety of students traveling near campus at night.
Over a year after the controversial shuttle system change, it still seems that students have a limited understanding of how the shuttle functions. While various administrators might point out that there is shuttle information buried somewhere on the portal for students to read, we think the shuttle committee needs to do a much better job of providing information about the shuttle (Why isn’t there a shuttle map route posted at the Bellarmine stop?) and providing students with more accessible means to provide feedback about the shuttle (Did anyone at all know the shuttle has an email address?).
Like it or not, the shuttle plays a vital role in the lives of most Xavier students, for both social and safety reasons. We think it should be given the attention it deserves.
Student Square
When the Zumbiel plant finally blows up (we hope we’re still on for December), plans for Xavier Square will really begin to kick off.
Xavier Square is set to be a development with apartments, restaurants, stores and other commercial areas to be used by students, visitors and local residents. Students have an opportunity to shape this environment.
However, according to sources within the Student Government Association, as of yet there are no students involved on the planning committee for Xavier Square.
Fortunately, the SGA executives have been assured that student input will be heavily considered and gathered in the future. We at the Newswire cannot stress how crucial it is that students be involved in this decision-making process. To start, Dr. Kandi Stinson, associate provost for academic affairs, will attend the senate meeting on Monday to hear student input.
We at the Newswire encourage all students who have ideas for Xavier Square to show up and participate in the public forum SGA holds at the beginning of all senate meetings. The senators do hold quite a bit of clout, whether we like to admit it or not.
This is a crucial and exciting time for this university, as it expands and changes drastically. Though we may not be around to see all the changes, we must speak up in order to shape the Xavier we want and fund.
We would also encourage students to consider the surrounding community as they offer ideas of restaurants, shops and other businesses they would like to see in this new development. Although this is a venture of Xavier and should serve the students and members of the Xavier community, we should also remember that we are a part of a larger community and can have a great impact on the area around us.
Split personality
Madeline LaFave
Editorial Board
I was recently laughed at by a professional for labeling myself as a “Type B” personality. I figured Type Bs were the laid-back, fun-loving type that did not possess the detail-oriented meticulousness of Type As. I mean, maybe I approach marathon training similar to the way I approach finals week and judge the success of my day based on the productivity of my free time, but who doesn’t? I decided to do a little research.
To my surprise, there are not two, but four distinct personality types. I will provide a brief, stereotypical synopsis of four fictional, unisex characters: Alvin, Blaze*, Cai and Dakota (for types A, B, C and D respectively).
Alvin is the kid who constantly changes his Facebook status. He uses a Bluetooth, and can’t quite seem to “kick-it” with the pals. He’d be considered a quality pick for your intramural basketball team due to his competitive nature, but with poor impulse control and a tendency for unpredictable verbal outbursts, he may not prove an asset in the last five minutes. Ladies, watch out, Alvin is pretty persistent in getting what he wants, and is willing to take great risks to do so.
Blaze loves to party, and thoroughly believes everything will work out in the end. Blaze is easy-going yet very into self-improvement, always competing with himself rather than competing with others. He’s motivated by intuition and living in the moment. Blaze’s public speaking skills are impeccable. When he’s angry, Blaze expresses it through subtle jokes, but he’s most likely mad at the issue, not the person. Making others feel at ease, Blaze likes to think of the world as a happy place, filled with marshmallows and rainbows and wants everyone to “just get along.”
Cai thrives on details and prefers everything neat and calculated, including his fashion sense. Cai would make a pro/con list prior to joining the intramural team, but would then consistently show up for practice, easily frustrated if the plays did not go as planned. You definitely want Cai in on your group test or project. He’s that smart kid that will just do it for you. Cai could be considered dateable, due to loyalty and patience, yet can be boring at times and may awkwardly view the relationship objectively. Cai remains uncomfortable with intimate conversation, and is very sensitive. Expect the silent treatment from Cai.
Finally, there is Dakota. Dakota is always there when needed, right there, most likely chillin’ on the couch. Standard. Dakota is very punctual, supportive and compassionate, but lazy. Dakota is always happy and content with himself and life in general, at times too much so as procrastination is Dakota’s strong point. Stage two clingers? Dakota’s the one for you. He looooves to be told what to do.
My research leads me to believe that a little bit of Alvin, Blaze, Cai and Dakota lives inside each of us.
If the world were all Alvins, we’d statistically all die of coronary disease. If the world were all a-Blaze, we’d have a lot of fun, but no one would get ahead. A world of Cais would be quite robotic and lack spontaneity. If we were all Dakotas, we would have no motivation in life, and probably eat far too much White Castle.
There is no single superior personality, and most of us are a combination of each. So maybe I am a Type B with a little bit of Type A insanity etched in, but who’s not a little OCD at times?
Now excuse me while I go count the snowflakes on my driveway…
*Blaze’s name was not strategically chosen, as he prefers hugs, not drugs.
Racism still rears its ugly head
In the aftermath of the “Black-Out Rally” that took place here at Xavier University, we still face ignorance. Along with the hundreds of thousands of supporters united against injustice, we here at Xavier are charged with the task of not only remaining intellectually engaged, but also acknowledging the cries of those being treated unjustly.
Though the situation in Jena, La., has changed as a result of peaceful protest, the six young men still face prosecution by a District Attorney who has taken it upon himself to administer two systems of justice, one for blacks and one for whites. Such racial stratification has continued to plague our country and our very existence as a unified America. What will be our response? How will America react? More importantly, what will you do?
The situation in Jena has indeed captured the country’s attention, but just as we professed before, the situation in Jena is just one example of the institutionalized racism that is still very prevalent in our society. In Tallahassee, Fla. a 14-year-old African American boy, Martin Lee Anderson, died at the Bay County Boot Camp last year, and yes, I did say last year. Once again, we have been let down by our political system, and by the media. On Oct.12, 2006, an all-white jury acquitted deputies and a nurse who participated in the videotaping of physical abuse that resulted in his death.
Like Anderson, 15-year-old Shelwanda Riley was beaten, pepper sprayed and punched by a Ft. Pierce, Fla. police officer as he tried to arrest her for a curfew violation.
At the Bowling Brook Preparatory School, a privately run residential program under contract with the Maryland Department of Juvenile Services, 17-year-old Isaiah Simmons died after struggling with five adult staff members who sat on the boy’s limbs, chest and head. He was restrained for three hours: after the incident he was pronounced dead.
Though we mention these isolated incidents, they are but a few of the many that have occurred. The reason that we are highlighting these issues is not solely as advocates of “black rights,” but as advocates for a unified, equality-based justice system.
As Dennis Courtland Hayes, NAACP Interim President, professes: “When the very people who are the caretakers of America’s criminal justice system do not believe that all are equal under the law, it sends a message that racism and hate are acceptable—is this America’s message?” Is this the mentality that children should be exposed to? Is this the message that we want our foreign counterparts to receive?
We, the Leadership Committee of the Black Student Association, ask that you educate yourselves and then take a stance. Please do not be blind to the prevalence of racism throughout our communities and political systems. Play an active role in racism’s demise. Gandhi said it best: “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
This article was submitted by senior Corey Burton on behalf of the Black Student Association.
— LETTERS TO THE EDITOR—
Thinking Beyond Appearance
Lately, there has been much healthy debate on and off Xavier’s campus about sexual discrimination and racial integration.
What is not so healthy is that we look at discrimination and integration in ways that are emotionally satisfying and politically correct, but intellectually lazy and morally bankrupt.
We start to think about discrimination and integration in racist and sexist terms.
First, if discrimination shows us anything, it shows that we should never judge people by the color of their skin or other physical attributes. We cannot focus on qualities (favorable and unfavorable) based on form and stereotype rather than on substance and understanding.
There is an old saying: “Do not judge a book by its cover.”
Second, if we are to seek integration on campus, why start with race and stop at gender? Why not the fat and the ugly? Ugly people may not get dates. Fat people may not get respect. Shouldn’t we have affirmative dating night or a fat person center?
Third, we cannot hope to fight discrimination or pursue integration with words alone. Just as we cannot preach democracy to the world while restricting free speech at home and supporting dictators abroad, we cannot preach integration on campus while having a Women’s Center and affirmative action recruitment policy. In the ultimate analysis, we must act to promote the idea that human beings have more in common than the color of their skin or shape of their bodies.
Finally, and most importantly, universities, as bastions of intellectualism, should stand for diversity of culture, competition of ideas and conflict of ideologies, not differentiation by race, sex or creed.
The belief that somehow diversity in and of itself contributes to rich and vibrant intellectual discourse on campus is but a myth.
We bring more to Xavier than our skin color and genetic make up. We bring to Xavier our special personality, unique individuality and separate experiences. We are much more than a label.
Let us start abolishing this process of discriminating through more discrimination by asking: What can I learn from the person next to me?
Kam C. Wong | Chair
Criminal Justice Department
Faith Frustration
Some of us in the Xavier Interfaith club were concerned by the cover article “Bringing Home Knowledge” and the supposed “need for interfaith awareness at Xavier.” The article highlighted the recent trip taken by faculty and students to the first Lay Conference on Jewish-Christian Relations at the Vatican.
We strongly agree that there is a need for interfaith dialogue on campus. However, the article went on to suggest that there is little interfaith interaction taking place on campus and little effort from students to increase interfaith awareness.
The information that was cited in the article was incomplete and generally lacking, and further inquiry would have improved the article. For example, the multifaith prayer space is a proposal we have been working on for two years with the Brueggeman Center, and it has recently been supported by the SGA and Campus Ministry.
Suggesting that a space is trying to be found for Ramadan simply shows a lack of knowledge about the project and about Islam—Ramadan ended over a month ago, and Muslim prayer takes place all year round. Furthermore, the prayer space we have proposed will be available for students of all faiths at all times.
Since last fall, the Xavier Interfaith Organization has planned and promoted interfaith events and worked to promote speakers on religious issues across campus. Last year we spearheaded a new Interfaith Retreat, which was highlighted in a Feb. 28, 2007 article in the Newswire.
We have also worked closely with Campus Ministry when they conduct interfaith services and in the planning for the future multifaith prayer space.
e appreciate the article’s intent and effort to highlight the issue, but it can be frustrating that a cover article of the Newswire can suggest that two years of work has gone unnoticed. I suppose this highlights the need by Xavier Interfaith for continued work. We will continue to promote interfaith activities, awareness and dialogue on campus. For more information please contact xuinterfaith@xavier.edu.
Brad Seligmann | 2009
Darren LaCour
Op-Ed Editor
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