There's not too much to say, which is why I guess I've been so lax about updating. I love Elon University, and could definitely see myself there for four years.
I'm going to Costa Rica this spring with Mr. Slattery, Mr. Day and some kids from school, and I'm super-excited about that. We're doing home-stays, so Rachel (sophomore) and I will be staying in a house with a family for a week, and there will be whole-group excursions during the day, as well as spanish-classes. It sounds pretty cool to me. :)
There's a big to-do with the newspaper (The Flame) right now because, as many of you know, we sell ads to local businesses in order to make enough money to produce the newspaper 7 times each year. Well, one student this year sold an ad to a family that she knows. They want to take up a full page (envision the N&O size, 'cause that's how big it is) and all they want on the page is: In God We Trust. Now, I don't have a problem with this because, though I think proselytizing isn't always appropriate, I believe strongly in our first-amendment rights. All of us on the newspaper staff want freedom of the press, and with that, we have to accept freedom of speech. As I told our editor-in-chief, who is particularly upset about this ad, "We won't stop selling ads to Domino's Pizza if the veagans get upset, will we?" He thinks it's different, but I don't. The other thing is that if we were content-neutral when we started selling ads, we have to remain content neutral throughout. Well, our editor-in-chief, Ben, wrote a petition and got (at last count more than eighty) students to sign it--- saying that they didn't support the inclusion of this ad in the paper (ARGH-- people, it's an ad that clearly says it was paid for by a certain family, whose name I am not going to print on my blog). The N&O has printed ads before that say "If you don't believe in such and such you are going to be doomed to so and so for ever." That's just the way it goes. It's clearly not a newspaper-supported thing. It's funny how people think editorials are okay, but the second we put in an ad that people don't like, everyone goes nuts. In fact, there's another full-page ad for Moe's Southwest grill that basically says that Moe's is #1 for burritoes. And you know what, Q'doba-lovers (Q'doba is another burrito place) are not getting hot and bothered about it. You know, it's not that people aren't entitled to their opinions or that I think they shouldn't speak their minds, but the thing is, this is much ado about nothing. Well, anyway, back to the story. Apparently the News and Observer got wind of the advertisement and the petition and called our faculty-sponsor (Dr. Busonik) and they want to run a story! It amazes me sometimes the reactions people have to certain things. Funny isn't it, that we freaking out over this, and yet people in Congo (Africa, for those of you geographically-challenged) are dying of starvation daily because the world has turned a blind-eye. And yet the second that there's an advertisement going in a measely 16-page newspaper at a 500-person school, the freaking state-wide newspaper takes notice. Ironic, yes? I think so. K, I'm done ranting now I guess.
Here's the google thinga-majiggy for today:
SPOOKY, huh?
No comments:
Post a Comment