— STAFF EDITORIALS —
Education must dispel bigotry
The recent display of racial insensitivity (put mildly, or bigotry, put plainly) is a staggering reminder of how far this nation has not come in the 45 years since Dr. King shared his dream with us.
The fact that the white people in black face were not Xavier students only slightly settles the Newswire’s temper.
It is abhorrent that, on the eve of an election in which the country has elected its first black president, so many people could be so intolerant.
At the University of Kentucky, just an hour’s drive from Xavier, an effigy of Barack Obama was recently lynched. Similar events have occurred all across the country.
Racism has seen an upstart of late, and, regardless of whether these events are related, they are an indication of how far we have yet to go.
Regardless of whether or not the racist costumes were worn by Xavier students, it was Xavier students who tolerated their presence.
A week ago, it would have been the hope of the Newswire that the host of any party would immediately give the boot to guests in such inflammatory clothes.
This week, it is to our dismay that these party-goers did not find themselves out on the street.
The Newswire applauds the pledged dedication of the university to increase its students’ education about issues of cultural and racial sensitivity.
But the very fact that awareness needs to be increased highlights that the university has not done all it can to teach its students about intolerance, discrimination and insensitivity.
Pub reneg is unfair to workers
It’s quite unfortunate that Ryan’s Eatery and Pub has had to cut its employees’ hours, especially when students are counting on that job to supply the little bit of spending money a college student has (in this economy, no less).
Management claims that the cuts were necessary, as the work force hired on at the start of the year was mainly for a transitional period. But if they had anticipated that labor would need to be reduced, they should have informed their employees upon their hiring so that those employees could secure other jobs. An hourly job at the Pub won’t pay for much when you’re not working until basketball season.
It’s unfortunate that Ryan’s denies that these cuts have anything to do with decreased business. While this may in fact mean that business in the pub is not suffering, it also indicates that those unforseen circumstances are not at work.
As a result, it seems pretty clear to the Newswire that the Pub knew it would need to cut back its employees’ hours and just opted not to tell them.
Ultimately, we can’t say we’re too surprised, however, especially given the financial climate of the university—Xavier has been pretty good about making promises it can’t keep. We’re sure that all the applicants seeking vacant professor positions have felt that they’ve gotten a sour deal as well.
Election season is finally over
Brandon McClain
Editorial Columnist
It’s finally over. Months of campaigning and all of the obnoxiousness
that goes with it have ceased. All of the ugliness of America will go back to
“normal” and perhaps things can get back to usual, whatever that
might consist of in this great country. Hopefully your candidate won, but I
guess we all can’t have that.
No more political ads, thank goodness. Now we can get back to our regularly scheduled commercials that proclaim the greatness of some crappy product that I don’t need.
I prefer the late-night ads with the mildly attractive seductress who tells me to call her for a “good time” over two ugly dudes named Steve who argue about who uses their name better.
No more obnoxious people telling me about their political beliefs and other such nonsense over Facebook. Holy cow, I didn’t know that people took Facebook seriously enough to let everyone know how politically motivated they are.
Not like it matters; I don’t care what you say about either candidate because I’ve made up my mind already.
I don’t need to know everything about your political beliefs because you have nothing better to do than to update your status every minute about how you’re such a hardcore (insert party here). The art of debating has been lost, sadly. It’s too much of “I’m right, you’re wrong, and you’re a bad/stupid/Godless person.” What happened to being civil?
No more (or at least, less) ugliness coming out of Americans who are so wound up in tarnishing the image of the other candidate that they forget or don’t even know what their own candidate stands for. There’s too much zeal that turns into hatred. When I see effigies of Obama and Palin hanging from trees in peoples’ yards, I cringe. That’s hatred, plain and simple, and it’s just ignorant. It doesn’t matter who you support, but showing such graphic disrespect towards someone because you don’t agree with his or her ideas is despicable.
Students of Xavier, I want to commend you for largely keeping it clean during this whole election process. Sure there were some hiccups here and there, but I believe that you’re all marvelous people who took the higher ground. Remember, it’s okay to disagree, just keep it civil. To quote a friend of mine, “You respect my choice of candidate, and I’ll respect yours.” Now let’s focus on the real important issue: Xavier Basketball. I’m Brandon McClain, and I damn sure approve this message.
Dating is not committing
Darren LaCour
Op/Ed Editor
Aside from what Xavier students are going to devote themselves to post-election, the most pressing issue facing our campus is the widespread anti-dating culture.
At the risk of sounding both overly-cliché and beating a dead horse into a bloody pulp, it’s also an issue I’d like to address.
For some reason, a vast majority of Xavier University students have it ingrained in their minds that you can only go on a date with someone if you are in a highly committed relationship. Yeah, that makes sense. Just like you can only go to church if you’re religious. It’s not like one leads to the other or anything.
Here’s the latest blow to the would-be-daters that I’ve learned about. My friend, aghast, told me how she had been asked on a date by a guy who she doesn’t even really know. BUT THAT’S THE POINT.
If I were to ask someone on a date, I feel that statement should communicate, “Hey, you have piqued my interest, so I would like to get to know you better.” For some reason it’s always interpreted as, “Ohmygosh I’ve liked you for about 10 million years and I watch you all day and I want to do dirty things to you and spend my whole life with you.” Get over yourselves—nobody’s that into you.
Besides, if you refuse to date people you don’t know, you’re trapped into either not dating, or only dating amongst your friends. And then you become that group–the band kids of college, the thespian sexual amoeba or just the collection of self-satisfied weird kids who live in their own separate bubble. Mmm…so appealing.
Arguments I hear against dating at Xavier include that the campus is too small and that there isn’t enough variety. False. Xavier is a hugely diverse campus—at least one in five Xavier students do not support Obama, and there are both students devoted to intellectual pursuits (at the College of Arts and Sciences) and students devoted to making more money than I could even dream of by attending mind-numbingly obvious classes (at the Williams College of Business). Diversity is not an issue. Nor is variety: I happen to hang out with a wonderful group of intelligent and charming individuals, but I know that there are plenty of tool-bags who don’t fit that description. Take your pick, folks!
As for the smallness of campus, I think that’s baloney. Each day at Xavier, I see at least one person I’ve never seen before. Just because you don’t surround yourself with beautiful people like I do doesn’t mean they aren’t around. And let’s say you went on a date with one of these people whom you never see, and after said date you decided you never wanted to see that person again. I think it would be relatively easy to avoid them. You’re really only going to run into that awkward problem if you’re sucking face with everyone in your circle.
So here are my final thoughts:
Stop thinking of dating as a super-intense commitment. In fact, go on dates with multiple people at the same time. All you’re doing is getting to know someone better, after all, and if there’s mutual interest, then exclusivity will be born out of that.
Grow a pair. Rejection sucks, but its not that bad.
Finally, before it gets too cold, go to the park. Because swinging is the most fun ever, with or without a date.
There’s still a long way to go
By Alex Allen-Tunsil
Guest Columnist
How many people dressed as their favorite super hero for Halloween? Favorite athlete? Favorite artist? How many dressed in blackface…? Well, two individuals at a Halloween party in the Xavier Community decided to dress in blackface this year.
Do they know the magnitude and outright disrespect of their actions?
In the mid-19th century, white entertainers put black shoe polish and grease on their faces, exaggerated their lip size and wore raggedy clothes. They called it a minstrel show and in their attempt to imitate or caricature slaves in the South and ex-slaves in the North, they degraded us and produced lasting stereotypes that would plague African-American people forever. Characters like Sambo (the docile, lazy, and irresponsible black man), Pickaninnies (unkempt and dark children worthy of being eaten by animals) and Zipcoon (the black man who was attempting to adjust to freedom in the North but just couldn’t quite cut it). None were as degrading as the one we saw this Halloween: the Mamie. Minstrel shows portrayed her as an asexual, unattractive, dark black woman who was overjoyed about her duties as a slave.
This incident is a mere microcosm of a broader socio-cultural issue. It speaks to an already ongoing issue: the unconscious racism that is consistently perpetuated in society. As students of a progressive university built on Jesuit principles, we cannot stand for ignorance or other racists’ ideals whether perpetuated passively or actively. As students committed to tolerance; we cannot let racism go unchallenged. Education that shines a light on the pervasive, though often hidden manifestations of racism is vital for all members of a community who are committed to real “change.”
On the eve of one of the most historic elections in world history, where a black man is soon to become the leader of the United States, we find ourselves perplexed. How can we take steps backward by resorting to such ignorance when we have taken so many forward as a nation towards equality?
At this point, we must call into question our commitment to diversity. Xavier’s mission is to shape the entire individual into a well-rounded being, yet as administrators, faculty, staff and peers, we have failed in our duties. Despite cultural enriching events like the Midwest Masala, The Conversation on Race, the African Gala and the Antonio Johnson Scholarship Gala, these ethical issues have been swept under the rug. We profess to be diverse and culturally sensitive, but our personal lifestyles do not reflect our public professions.
I challenge the university to uphold its commitment to diversity. It is insufficient to support cultural displays and profess intergroup harmony to Xavier students as long as students are not required to recognize unseen systems of oppression.
Be clear, this isn’t the first incident of its kind. Events like this happen at many campuses and are posted all over Facebook. Now that this has happened here, issues of racism are really hitting home. Whether these students were from Xavier or not, they were in pictures with our smiling-faced students who, just like them, did not grasp the magnitude and disrespect of their actions. People claim racism is dead and is no longer an issue; this event cannot be justified. Let this be a time of introspection rather than a time persecution. This occurred on our turf and, therefore, is a reflection of us all. We have to be held accountable as individuals and as a whole. Let this be a wake-up call to all: our work is not done.
— LETTERS TO THE EDITOR—
Chalkings
For the first time here at Xavier, I am ashamed of the look of our campus. Physical Plant spends tons of time making our campus look award-winningly beautiful. Now, its ugly, plain and simple. There is chalk everywhere. I am okay with the occasional chalk notice of a XAVIER sponsored event, and even encouraging kids to vote is a good idea, as long as neutrality is kept. The problem I have is that:
1) Our campus is basically one giant Pro-Obama billboard and
2) It’s everywhere.
No sidewalk or wall is safe from this mess. I am embarrassed when I see groups of visitors touring our campus and seeing this mess. It has turned our once beautiful campus into an eyesore. It’s good to see kids getting involved in politics, but respect for our university must not be lost. I pray for the day that our campus is returned back to the beautiful campus that I know and love.
Adam Frazier | ‘11
Pub problems
A little over a week ago, three of my friends and I decided to go have dinner at Ryan’s Pub at about 8 p.m. We sat down and ordered shortly after arriving. Everything was fine up until that point, when it turned into the worst service experience ever. We were forced to wait for over 45 minutes to get our food, despite the fact that there was only one other person in the entire restaurant, and he was sitting at the bar. When our food did eventually arrive, we received our first, and long over due, refills on our drinks. We also did not get any silverware or napkins. We then patiently waited for our bills, which never came. We were forced to walk across the restaurant and wait by the register to pay, almost as if the servers were busy, which they obviously were not, because when we left, there was again a single man at the bar.
Jon Bokar | ‘10
Katherine Monasterio
Op-Ed Editor
Submit a Letter to the Editor
The Xavier Newswire 3800 Victory Parkway Cincinnati, Ohio 45207-2129 On-campus location: The Publications House, 3739 Ledgewood Dr. Telephone: 513.745.3607 Advertising: 513.745.3561 Fax: 513.745.2898 Email: Kathryn Rosenbaum
Editor-in-Chief Nathan Sergio
Advertising Manager Full list of staff contacts www.xu.edu/newswire
