— STAFF EDITORIALS —
Changes to Service Fellowship need not be made in such haste
In the words of the late, great Elvis Presley: “Only fools rush in.”
The Newswire, though ever an advocate for change, believes, strongly in deliberate, prudent action, and is disappointed to find this somewhat absent in the modifications being made to the Service Fellowship.
We do not mean to call any figure involved in this decision a fool, but to suggest that there seems to be no great need to rush this process.
The university has not adequately communicated the necessity for hurry in this case, and the Newswire feels it may come at the expense of one of Xavier’s most notable programs.
Likewise, the university has not adequately communicated its support of increasing participation at the expense of scholarship money per candidate. It seems unbecoming for a school that prides itself on emphasizing leadership, service and academics, to only offer full-tuition scholarships that reward achievement in leadership and academics.
If the Community Engaged Fellowship works out well—and the Newswire sincerely hopes it does, because programs like this are what Xavier should be about—it will not be because the university took the time necessary to involve all the right voices from the get-go.
Voter apathy cannot spill over into our national elections
With the November Presidential elections drawing near, there’s an undeniable sense of interest among the Xavier population. Polls show that our generation is much more engaged in politics than were past generations that gave college students our reputation for apathy.
As far as campus politics go, however, that apathy has once again reared its ugly head. The dismal voter turnout for the fall Student Government Elections should be inexcusable. The Newswire believe that SGA can and does affect campus and the lives of Xavier students, and as a result, all who are affected should raise their voices to be heard. But if you don’t speak up, you won’t be. Call us crazy, but we don’t feel that the majority of voters who were in favor of Greek life at Xavier accurately reflects the general sentiment of the student body.
Of course, given that over half of the Newswire staff did not even know the elections were taking place, perhaps we can excuse the student body at-large.
Despite what was reportedly an extensive advertising campaign to raise awareness of the elections, the failure to get students’ attention should indicate that the advertising must not have done its job.
While we can’t go back and force people to run or vote in the SGA elections, we can stress how important it will be to exercise your constitutional right to vote this November.
Fortunately, the federal government and national media do a pretty good job of letting citizens know when the elections take place.
This Monday, Oct. 6, is the last day to register to vote.
Once you’ve done that, be there at the polls on Tuesday, Nov. 4 to ensure your voice is heard.
You wouldn’t want the federal government enacting an unpopular policy because poll numbers were representative of only 6 percent of eligible voters.
Want Greek? Think again
Andrew Chestnut
Editorial Columnist
If you were one of the nine people who voted in the Freshman SGA elections last week, you may have noticed a question on the ballot that asked whether you would support a Greek life at Xavier.
Far-fetched though the proposition may be, it does draw attention to a contentious issue: should Xavier go Greek?
Many of you, though I would doubt the majority of you, think so. You think Xavier would be more complete if there were a handful of fabricated social institutions that don’t exist for any specific reason. You may think you want pointless inter-house rivalries, exclusivity and t-shirts with funny letters. You don’t.
You may say that you want the family-like social context fraternities and sororities supposedly provide, or their commitment to service and GPA requirements, but that isn’t true. Those things are already widely available here in our many clubs and activities, and GPA requirements are available though a little known club called the You-Shouldn’t-Need-The-Threat-Of-Getting-Kicked-Out Of-A-Fraternity-Or-Sorority-To-Motivate-You-To-Get-A-Decent-GPA Society.
What you actually want is better parties. You want it to feel more like the misguided, abstract depiction of college you have learned to expect from movies like “Old School” or “Animal House.” You want a taste of the alleged insanity you hear about from high school friends at larger institutions.
The party scene isn’t big enough for you, and you think adding Greek life would fix that.
In reality, it would give us nothing we don’t already have, but would screw up our entire social structure. Currently, friends are made though clubs and societies; relationships are forged through common interests that run deeper than “Uh, we just want to party, bro…” Usually.
When we go out to parties on Friday and Saturday nights, we don’t have to worry about being on a list to get in. We just walk in. People that host parties don’t have the university breathing down their neck about community service hours and average GPAs.
If we did go Greek, there would be a sudden rush to join a house. Hardly anybody would actually want to join a house, but everyone would feel pressured to do so because they wouldn’t want to be left out of the supposed fun.
Over time, Greek people would be too busy doing Greek things to continue taking part in the clubs and societies in which they were once involved. Participation in non-Greek (see: meaningful) activities would plummet.
Nothing would be the same, and that would be regrettable. A lot of Xavier’s attractiveness and distinctiveness comes from the fact that we aren’t Greek and that Greek membership and its pressures do not infect our unique social structures.
Do we really want to be one more school with Greek life?
There are plenty of schools where folks can feel more “collegey” in an atmosphere pervaded by exclusion and symbols of the Greek alphabet.
Hopefully, that atmosphere will not be imposed on Xavier as well.
Moderation, please
Sarah Wieten
Editorial Columnist
If you are a Xavier student your life probably goes one of two ways. You are either:
A) Completely over-involved.
You take far too many hours of exceedingly difficult courses and attempt to follow the 3:1 ratio rule about hours of studying.
Your list of committees, clubs, intramural sports, boards, varsity sports and administrative groups never seems to end.
Your significant other demands that you spend several valuable hours of the day with him/ her, and then pouts if you can’t deliver.
In addition to the unpaid internship that you simply must have (if you want a career that doesn’t involve living off minimum wage for the rest of your life) you have a menial job that pays, you guessed it, minimum wage.
B) Completely uninvolved.
Whether or not you go to class on any given day depends on many highly important factors such as which re-runs are on Bravo and how long it takes you to find your left shoe.
You went to Club Day on the Mall to get free food and for no other reason.
Your best friends are your sheets and comforter.
You figure a career will happen on its own when it’s time to grow up, whenever that is.
Despite the differences, both of these lifestyles have significant problems.
For person A, there are only so many hours in the day and so many counselors at the Health Center to prevent a stress-induced breakdown.
For person B, there are only so many years in your youth. Do you really want to look back and see that the major accomplishment of your four years at Xavier University was the amazing ability to name, in order, every winner of America’s Next Top Model?
Students are either completely overwhelmed with the wealth of opportunities available, or completely ignore these opportunities.
Because this is a Jesuit university where, through the use of a Liberal Arts Core, we Mold Students into Well-Rounded Free-Thinking Individuals (with Rigor and Compassion!), we all are required to take an entry level course called Ethics as an Introduction to Philosophy.
Although this course is taught by many different professors in many different ways, I’m thinking that they probably all touch somewhat on classical philosophy.
My professor talked about this guy Aristotle who suggested something called moderation.
Anyone heard of it?
Well, we could use a little more of it around here.
Momma told me
Bradon McClain
Editorial Columnist
I don’t know about you, but quite frankly, I’ve been seeing and interacting with some random people on campus recently and it’s becoming quite ridiculous.
I think that all of you have seen, heard or been approached (possibly harassed) by the numerous people standing around campus asking, “Are you registered to vote?”
Now, I know that this is a legitimate question because college students are getting more and more involved in politics after years of apathy and disinterest, but honestly, I’ve had enough of this nonsense.
I don’t need to be heckled when I’m on my way to my 9:30 because I’ve got enough on my mind as it is.
Yes, damnit, I am registered, now leave me the *$#& alone!
I’ll vote in November, don’t you worry, but stay away from me, lest I start cussing up a storm on your democratically-dedicated soul.
There’s also been another type of creeper on campus lately, taking a different form.
Perhaps you’re aware of shady individuals approaching you, seemingly to ask a simple question, but really intending to solicit you for information.
Some time last week, I was walking back to the Commons when a short, red-headed guy approached me and asked for directions to UC.
I kept walking and told him that I didn’t know how to get there, but kindly pointed him to Campus Police for assistance.
He then dropped the pretext and started trying to talk to me about my major and other topics of small-talk.
My short friend finally got to his point: he claimed he was working for some company and had just gotten back from Vegas for some kind of business trip.
Naturally, I was suspicious and just let him ramble on for a bit. He eventually told me that his company was looking for some people to get involved and asked for my number.
Now, I’m not sure how this guy was raised, but my momma always told me never to give my number to strangers, and he was certainly strange.
How dumb did this guy think I was? Sorry to disappoint you, buddy, but I’m no fool.
So ladies and gentlemen of this fine campus, please be wary of the creepers around here; they may seem nice, but if they get too close, just throw your shoe at them, claim self-defense and then blame it on me.
— LETTERS TO THE EDITOR—
In defense of Turtle-Panda
I am outraged about the Turtle-Panda article recently featured in the Newswire (Sept. 24). I am not mad about the fake club, but rather the fact that the Newswire probably could not have gotten more facts about this story incorrect. I am not one of the persons involved with starting the fake club, nor am I in any way affiliated with the club, as I refused to sign the fake sign-up sheet. However I do know the people responsible.
First of all, not a single person who gave his email address was sent pornography as you said in your article, nor was he sent any email at all.
Secondly, there was no hand-drawn picture of a turtle with a shell on its back, although there was a poorly put together picture of a “Turtle-Panda” that was composed of a picture of a panda with a cut out picture of a turtle shell literally taped on the backside of the panda.
I would also like to point out the way that the group was able to “trick” SGA into thinking that it was a real club was by being asked by a member of SGA if they had signed in, to which they replied “Yeah, about 30 minutes ago” and the SGA senator believed them and walked away.
In the future the Newswire should dig a little deeper in their research and find some credible sources.
I want to validate the belief of your eyewitness by saying that the turtle-panda is in fact not a real animal. Besides, anyone who believed anything this group told them are definitely not the kind of people I would want running our student government.
Matthew Clayton | ‘11
Editor’s Note: The Newswire’s report of pornographic emails was based on complaints received by SGA on the “SGA Speaks” portion of its website.
Remember all
Michelle Theret’s recent letter in the Newswire brought up a valid point concerning the 9/11 memorial: the victims do indeed deserve to be remembered.
But why stop at 9/11? Why not display 500,000 Iraqi flags to remember the children who perished as a result of U.S. led sanctions? Or thousands of Chilean flags representing those killed and tortured under the U.S. supported Pinochet dictatorship? Or perhaps hundreds of thousands East Timor flags for those who died under the U.S. supported government of Suharto?
We seem to honor our own dead but conveniently forget those we have killed. It is a double standard that works to build jingoism.
So remember the dead, but remember all of them.
Nicholas Kemper | ‘10
Turtle-Panda retaliates
As the illustrious architect of Turtle-Panda United, the newest and most notorious club at Xavier University, I would like to recognize the incompetence of our SGA as well as our campus newspaper. Not only am I ashamed that we pay a decent salary to certain inept individuals who are supposed to run our student body to its fullest potential, I am also ashamed that those same individuals would be asinine enough to believe that a person of my stature would send pornography to those who seemed so dedicated to such a worthy cause.
To all who believe in the Turtle-Panda, our cause is much like Santa Claus
or the Tooth Fairy: you are never too old to believe.
Ryan Clover | '10
Blue blob: red?
Several years ago, Skyline Chili gave an added incentive to the Crosstown Shootout. The prize awarded to the school that won was a short, fuzzy Blob. Yes, back before the Blue Blob licked the floor of the Xavier Basketball court or entered into its complicated love affair with the Xavier Pep Band, our beloved mascot was color-neutral. Had it not been for the determination of the Xavier community, the Blue Blob could have become the Red Blob.
Thankfully, Xavier captured the colorless blob and gave him his blue coat. Lately, however, our Blob has been showing increasing shades of red. Not of a UC red or even those Jason Love shirts, but a Republican red.
Over the past two years I have watched despairingly as the College Republicans masterfully staged public events, such as Conservative Week and Ann Coulter’s appearance, pulling new members and more funds into the club. Agony and embarrassment soon developed over the awkward fumbling of the College Democrats as they tried to organize meetings and events which drew dwindling numbers.
Countering Coulter was left in the hands of the Xavier Alliance (who did a great job), and the fifth anniversary of Iraq’s invasion passed on campus not with raised fists and voices, but a poorly advertised movie.
Disappointed in its ineptitude, the College Democrats vented their frustration not by planning innovative activities or vigorously challenging the College Republicans, but by timidly tapping an elephant piñata. The Conservative Red on campus had bled through the Blue fuzz of our Blob.
“Change we need,” and change may be coming. Three weeks ago, the College Democrats opened their first meeting to a packed house of more than forty students. Obama-mania, it seems, is re-energizing the Democrats on campus. Students who have never attended a meeting before volunteered to canvas neighborhoods, plan a Rock the Vote drive and organize debate viewing parties.
That meeting got the donkey hopping, but not kicking. The Blob is still on the line, and winning him for the Blue will require more than a strong defense. Students, faculty, and staff need to donate their voices, their hands, and their time to Obama and the Democrats.
Will Durbin | '10
Katherine Monasterio
Op-Ed Editor
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