— STAFF EDITORIALS —
SAC should have a backup plan
Fall is fast approaching, and, as of yet, the Student Activities Council has not booked an artist to put on a concert.
Before we start writing chapter three of the book on failed SAC concert attempts, we should point out that Creighton and Butler, two colleges who have consistently booked fall concerts, have not finalized their artists for this coming season either.
So there’s hope.
We understand that booking a concert is a long, tedious and risky process,
because most of the artists SAC would try to book are in high demand.
And so while we can cut SAC some slack, we at the Newswire think that SAC should
consider a back-up plan or two, just to avoid a debacle like last year’s.
A suggestion we’d offer is to have a student concert. There are bound to be numerous student bands, all of whom don’t really have the opportunity to play for their fellow students.
Last semester, Debunkify put on a Battle of the Bands which, though it might not have been an enormous success, may have provided a spark for an outlet which has yet to be opened on campus.
Give student bands a little more notice, wide publicity of the event, and SAC would have the potential for a pretty successful concert.
By no means should SAC spend its entire accumulated concert budget on a Battle of the Bands, but it wouldn’t hurt to put some money towards that. This would end the concert-draught as well as give student performers an opportunity to showcase their talents.
Exploitation honors no one
It’s that time of year again.
It’s not the first winds of fall, although there’s definitely something chilly in the air.
It’s not the memories of our first weeks of school, although our memories have been jogged.
It’s not even the season premier of the Prime Time’s most anticipated
show of the year, although it’s been called a “must see” by
its publicists.
In fact, it’s quite another thing altogether.
This Thursday is the seventh anniversary of the September 11 terrorist attacks, and, in case you can’t remember the horrific events of that day all by yourself, the Xavier College Republicans have set up a reminder on the greenspace.
For the seventh straight year, College Republicans have wholly inhabited Xavier’s remembrance of the victims of those attacks, presumably because the rest of campus isn’t patriotic enough, or too forgetful of an event that changed the world as we know it, to take up the initiative on their own.
They even made the curious decision to send a press release (to members of the media) that says, “The media seems to have forgotten about the tragic events of September 11th.”
It’s not that the media has forgotten.
It’s just that it can’t impartially cover such a spectacle when College Republicans leech onto it like their favorite holiday.
Us + them = WE
Darren LaCour
Op-Ed Editor
This past weekend was quite an eventful one, wasn’t it?
There were plenty of enjoyable parties around Xavier’s campus—opportunities for every Xavier student to unwind and attempt to make good decisions while his or her decision-making capacity was impaired. O, college, how we love thee and all your senseless games.
In fact, this weekend was so action-packed that on at least two separate occasions, Norwood police decided that there was too much action, and so they came to rain on our parades.
I’ll have you know that on one of these instances, those apprehended by the authorities were people about whom I care deeply and so I was a little miffed. Arresting people because the party was loud? Give me a break.
Now, I could provide a typical college student reaction, cranking up a certain N.W.A. song and claiming that, because we’re in college, the authorities should understand that we’re going to drink and go crazy.
Alternatively, I could point out that our Norwood houses are smack-dab in the middle of a residential neighborhood, complete with working families, children and the elderly. As such, we as students need to be respectful of those people who probably don’t want to be up past midnight on Thursday because their neighbors are so excited the weekend is almost here.
I’ll even admit that there have been times where I’ve gotten frustrated with a group of fellow students, most likely business majors, who, since they never have to do any homework, think that drunkenly hollering at 2 a.m. is the best way to spend their Wednesday night. So it wouldn’t surprise me that the local residents, who have been putting up with college students’ antics year after year, would also be perturbed and irritated.
Though both of these positions have some validity (and the latter much more than the former), I don’t think that’s the real issue here.
The problem is the “us” and “them” attitude that defines the relationship between students and local residents.
Yes, students, we have to be absolutely respectful of our neighbors. Quit throwing your empty cans/bottles/cups on lawns and puking/peeing in your neighbors’ bushes. Shut your windows if you have to throw a party to celebrate your first sober Tuesday in your four years at college. Try as hard as you can to keep your voices down while you’re staggering in your wing’s procession to attempt entry to a house party.
But when an officer at the police station quips something to the effect of, “We have better things to do, but this is what the locals want,” I think it’s safe to say that we have bigger issues at hand.
So what can we do?
Well, we could stop throwing parties. This idea, however, is foolish and should not even remotely be considered.
The real solution would be to truly become a part of the community in which we live. Make sure you’ve introduced yourself to your neighbors. Join in a porch conversation, or get to know someone you pass while taking a stroll through the streets. Pick up trash around your neighborhood, even if you didn’t put it there.
It’s so easy for us to paint the permanent residents of Norwood as bad guys who hate college students—just like it’s easy for them to paint us as irresponsible partiers—as long as we don’t know any of them personally.
But once we realize that those groups are made up of individuals who don’t
fit our stereotypes, we can understand one another better.
So go over to your neighbor’s house and introduce yourself. Give them
your phone numbers, and tell them to call you before the cops if they ever feel
that there’s a problem.
I’m not telling you to make friends with your neighbors so that you can avoid trouble. You should make friends with your neighbors because Norwood shouldn’t be a silent war between students and residents. That’s a war that only galvanizes the opposing sides in a struggle no one’s going to win.
Call it “us” and “them,” but WE still live here together. Which is why today, I’m going to introduce myself to my neighbor and make sure he knows that his porch light is on all day every day.
Ain’t so Common(s)
Brandon McClain
Editorial Columnist
I love being back, plain and simple. I know most of you agree with me, but I have a very selfish reason: I’m a junior (holy crap) and I live in the freakin’ Commons.
Yep, I live the high life in the building right across from Campus Police and it is amazing. I have my own bedroom, a nicely sized common area and a fully functional kitchen. To make things even better, there are two bathrooms for four people, thus, no more sharing a community bathroom where people do every unholy thing in the showers. Nor do I have to bother with suite-style rooms where I struggle with three other people for bathroom rights.
I don’t have to go to the caf, but I still do occasionally because it’s convenient when I’m in a rush or when I’m jonesing for some brunch on the weekends. Being able to make a sandwich or a pot of noodles without having to leave the room is the best feeling ever. God knows that I’m usually too lazy to do a whole lot to get something to eat, but when it’s so easy and convenient, I cannot say no.
Let’s also not forget the best part about the Commons: parking is ridiculously awesome. The Commons lot is a decent size and is much closer to the building than, say, R1 or R2. Even if I can’t find a spot in the Commons lot, I can park in C2 which is a HUGE upgrade from R2. No more walking past the scary white van in the far back of R2. No more long walks down the hill then back up the other hill to get to my room. It’s a stone’s throw away and I love it.
I will say that there is one drawback to living in the Commons, but it’s nothing major: Everyone has their door closed all the time—everyone except my room. It just feels so anti-social and secluded, almost as if nobody wants to be bothered. I beg you, fellow Commons residents, keep your doors open or stop by my room and see how we do it; there might even be free food for you (banana pudding).
Basically, the Commons is sweet and it would be a shame if it didn’t last through the campus expansion. Hopefully, the rumors that it wont be on campus for much longer aren’t true. If they are, I just hope that construction will actually start on a building that is equally awesome if not more awesome than the Commons. Of course, they’re more than a little behind and I’ll probably be screwed out of housing next year.
— LETTERS TO THE EDITOR—
Thanks for making club day successful
As the year begins and schedules fill up, Student Government wants to thank you for taking the time to come out and make Club Day on the Mall such a successful event.
This year over 140 organizations participated, making it one of the largest Club Days in the history of SGA. We hope clubs were able to recruit promising new members for the 2008-‘09 school year, and that each of you were able to find new ways to get involved.
It is a firm belief of Student Government that involvement on our campus is beneficial to both the individual and the Xavier community as a whole. We hope Club Day on the Mall is only the beginning of what is sure to be a promising and successful year. Once again, thank you for your participation!
All the Best,
Carter Johnson | '10
Legislative Vice President
Student Government Association
Guest column: Finding the true meaning of “conscience”
The word “conscience” never struck any special chord with me. I’ve always had more of an academic understanding of the word, but I never really thought about what it means to me. It is a word that I rarely use and furthermore do not recall any significant occasions where I have used it in a profound way. The few times I do recall using it were in a scientific or psychological context. This is rather strange for me, being an English major and all, because science is not my forté. The investigation that I undertook made me think of this word in a way that is not especially new, but definitely unfamiliar to my perspective.
After asking others what “conscience” means to them, I grouped their responses into several categories to determine a public consensus. A few individuals refer to “conscience” as a moral compass, something that helps us determine what is right and what is wrong. This may be useful on one hand, but on the other, this definition does not suggest any way for us to control what decisions we do make.
If our conscience is our moral guide, then what is it that steers us towards one set of decisions or another?
Another response was that “conscience is an awareness of things.” I was intrigued by this answer, and the notion of an almost superhuman sixth sense or intuition. Then I realized that this answer does not necessarily provide any real regulation for decision making either. One person said that conscience is a moral code used to justify our decisions. This seemed to get more at what I was looking for, implying a set of natural laws that all humans are bound to. Then again, this person sees conscience as something that emerges in the afterthought of a decision, not kicking in until after the damage has been done.
One gentleman declared that conscience is “a calculated decision to do good or bad things,” which he illustrated with a humorous example explaining the consequences of making certain decisions: “I make a dumb decision, my mom slaps me upside the head, and then I realize, hmm, that was stupid.” In this case conscience spawns out of classical conditioning, in which the kinds of decisions we make are dictated by our experiences. The final response I got was from a friend who called his conscience “the little voice in my head telling me what to do.” At first I chuckled, knowing that my friend likes to make jokes and also at the absurdity that comes from taking claims like this literally. However, one can understand how profound this is: suppose conscience is a “voice” that dictates our decisions.
Or perhaps this voice is a separate entity from us, an immaterial being that has a kind of symbiotic relationship with us and is only concerned for our well-being?
I still have yet to settle on my own solid definition of this peculiar term, but these responses have certainly given me something else to think about for now. It is a bit odd feeling that I am one of the apparent few who have not thought about this term on various levels before. But, based on the results of this survey I conducted, there are a number of people out there that do have a clear understanding of what conscience means to them, and that is quite reassuring.
Shannon Lloyd is a senior English major. This essay was an assignment in New Testament Ethics class (THEO 272), asking for students’ definition of “conscience.” He was also employed at the Newswire for part of the 2007-08 academic year.
Katherine Monasterio
Op-Ed Editor
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