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Volume CXXXII, Number 11 |
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Drop the slogan and skip a week
To the Editors:
What would happen if the Orient didn't publish for one week? It claims to be "the oldest continuously published college weekly in the United States," but does anyone really care? I don't. And I have a feeling that most people agree with me. The right to proclaim that meaningless statement has turned the Orient into a muck.
Just look at some of the recent stories to find out what a waste of ink simply printing those thousands of pages is. The issue from the week before Thanksgiving had several provocative pieces.
The lead story was that Bowdoin had selected a new campus planner to lead us all into the future. Maybe the story should have been titled, "Bowdoin to suck last pennies from alums." I mean that's what the idea behind the whole thing is. No one hires a planner to figure out new ways to clean old floors.
Right after that riveting piece, I found out that the college had installed a defibrillator on campus for emergencies. The problem is that this happened six months ago. The intentions are good. Everything else is flawed. First, is this newsworthy? A column dedicated to a defibrillator? For this week I just hope that this letter won't take space away from "Using your vacuum."
Maybe it would be better if we left saving someone's life up to a professional, and not to whomever happens to be closest to this mobile electric chair. I just don't trust people who say even a sixth grader could use this instrument. Sixth graders can't do many things, and even my roommate has electrocuted himself in the past year. Leave the defibrillator with security, not in the hands of teenagers.
What wouldn't an Orient issue be if CIS didn't save the campus from the next gigantic computer bug that has come to harvest our Dells? I don't know anything about computers. No one can write anything good about computers because a good computer story is an oxymoron. No one reads their computer manuals when they want to kill some free time.
Finally, stop giving everyone a weekly column. Why do you need such an extensive staff? Stop giving space to students whose only job is to fill it. If someone has something to say, let them say it.
If I go to the dining hall on Friday afternoon, I want to read something that is of interest to me. There's no point in reading something if you don't care about what's its saying. I don't buy that garbage that it's worth reading about to broaden my knowledge, my horizons. I'll broaden my own horizons, you just focus on printing good material.
Maybe the Orient should just take a week off? Give the writers some time off so they can think of something to write about. Perhaps take the money you save from publishing and buy an idea. People at least respect the Patriot and the Disorient because they don't have to deal with their garbage every week. I promise you, that skipping an issue here or there will not prevent me from reading the following week-publishing some of the recent rubbish will.
Sincerely,
Jim McDonald, '05
Liberalizing the Democratic Party?
To the Editors:
I'm a Democrat and a liberal, but I read Reinert's article and was nothing short of baffled. His point that Democrats need to be more liberal, seemingly at the expense of logic, is ridiculous. First, let me address Reinert's smaller points.
For one, there is no "overwhelming majority" of the nation that is pro-choice. The number is more like 52 percent. As for the other point, namely that Democrats would be more popular if they supported marijuana legalization, Reinert simply has not done his research. There is a reason, after all, that even Nevada decisively defeated a referendum to legalize the drug. Most people, for better or for worse, do think marijuana should stay illegal. Democrats should not seek to alienate most of the people in the nation.
Reinert makes other indefensible claims, such as saying "censorship is wrong in all cases." As "evidence" for this, he says that he should be able to stand "on a corner in D.C. and say he is going to shoot the president." Never mind that the U.S. Supreme Court has repeatedly interpreted the constitution as saying that speech that poses an imminent danger is not protected. But does Reinert actually believe this? More importantly, does anyone except for the most liberal one percent of the nation actually agree with him? This is not a good issue for Democrats to take a stand.
As a Democrat, I would be appalled if the Democratic party moved in Reinert's proposed direction. Reinert claims he'd be happy to "fight a revolution." But America doesn't like revolutionaries, Reinert. I only hope that the Democratic Party is aware of this as well.
Sincerely,
Neal Urwitz '06
Security notification policy in the works
To the Editors,
I write to amend an editorial I submitted for the last issue of the Orient in which I encouraged Security to inform students about parking violations. After a discussion with Jason Hafler, President of Student Affairs, and Colin LeCroy, Vice President for Facilities, I learned that during the 2000-2001 school year Student Government instituted a system similar to the one I proposed in my letter.
As it stands, Security is supposed to submit to Student Government a list of vehicles that have been towed, and Student Government is responsible for notifying the offenders, by email, the same day. As of last week, I was one of the many students who were previously unaware that such a policy exists.
In addition, Mr. LeCroy is working with CIS to build an automated notification system into the ticketing system, so that not only are students notified about tows, but also about tickets. Thus, the multiple ticket problem I raised in my editorial would be eliminated.
I apologize for any undue backlash that may have resulted from my editorial, but hopefully this discourse has made more students aware of the service that has been and will continue to be provided by Security and Student Government.
Sincerely,
Chris Lajoie '04
To the Editors:
One of the best aspects of being a Bowdoin student is our ability to get involved and be heard. In recent weeks, students have raised concerns about parking, student organizations, and college committees through campus publications. However, these same issues have not, by and large, been presented to the BSG for our attention.
The BSG is here for students with any concerns regarding the welfare of>the Bowdoin community. We charter student organizations, allocate money for campus events, select student representatives to college committees, and in general do our best to represent the interests of the student body. While we are not always able to achieve all our goals, we act with the intention of making Bowdoin a better place. We cannot do so alone, however. If the BSG doesn't know what issues are important to you as students, we obviously cannot do anything to alleviate your concerns.
Communication is essential. We hope that all students will feel comfortable raising issues with the elected student leadership through BSG. Students should feel free to contact any member of BSG with their concerns. Bowdoin is small enough that, with a little hard work and effort, change can be affected in the way it is intended to. Let's see where we can go from here.
Sincerely,
Bowdoin Student Government
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