Thank God for America (the U.S. not the continent) and its freedom of speech. This is how we get a student newspaper leveraging personal grief regarding a student suicide (19 going on 20) and the rape accusation of another fratty bro.
It will make it to the front page every day this week.
The first reflects the emotional morbosity that plagues those around me. I suffer it too but I go to great pains to diguise it. It is inconsiderate and reprehensible for a reporter to attend a grief counseling session to comment on the "visibly disturbed" nature of his friends and family. Oh thank God!!!!! I was soooo concerned for them. The newspaper is a good way of finding out that they're "dealing with it".
There is something blatantly presumptuous in college extracurriculars (read pre-professional wannabe clubs and/or the student newspapers/magazines/associations) that think too highly of themselves. This proves my point. There are facts that need reporting. Penn has a counseling service. GOOD. Penn is stressful. GOOD. Preying on human emotion. Questionable.
I might be wrong. After all, U.S. citizens pride themselves on their liberties and freedom of press though they're not at the top of the list. Their right next to Croatia. Read into that what you will.
It bothers me is all.
Let's talk about the rape allegation. Sure, emphasize the fact that it happened at a fraternity. Emphasize the Greek letters. Blame the Greeks. It's an easy cliche right? After all you are predominantly non-Greek and you have attempted to get a statement from the president of the fraternity. Never mind that you are predominantly not Greek and predominantly biased against the organization. Maybe it's simply because you find too many of your papers strewn across classroom floors (missing the crossword) or maybe it's because your "first-hand reports" which you flaunt around as coming from greater powers to be are actually simple accounts of what happened by your drunk correspondents who were there to party. A C.I. is not official when the comment you got from an anonymous tipster was the result of a mass text.
That girl doing a three-point stance on the dance floor with hair sticking to her neck in a hot sweaty mess is tomorrow's Cronkite.
I could be wrong. It seems to easy to prey on the faults rather than emphasize the positives.
Wit rather than banter my friends.
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ReplyDeleteI think the DP is an independent organization and does not get school funding.
ReplyDeleteI agree that their coverage of these sexual assault cases has been inflammatory. Let's face it-- 70% of this campus is non-Greek. But it can be argued their relative roasting of the Greek community (a link between all three cases) has led more survivors to report their experiences. I think that is much more important than our own pride as responsible Greeks, and a huge issue on campus. Some of their coverage might be over-the-top, but if it gives confidence to someone who is in limbo about telling DPS or Special Services, then I'll take it.
All-in-all, well thought-out. You da man... I especially liked what you said about the coverage of Alex Lyles' suicide.
Read my response in "A Responsible Greek"
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