Student comments are nothing more than ‘ignorance’

Oh, what a wonderful college community we have.
The coverage of the “Sex Lines” presentation Monday night may not
have been tasteful to some people. All students are entitled to whatever opinion
they want; however, all should remember issues discussed at the event were student-submitted.
A registered student organization on campus, the Family Life and Human Sexuality
Organization, sponsored the event, raising more than $200. The event charged
$2 per person — meaning more than 100 people attended.
How fitting is it, at an institution of higher learning, that more than 100
people attended an event — and paid for it — based solely on
sex, when the average attendance for a FREE presidential forum is 10 people.
University President Michael Rao instituted the forums to find out what issues
students wanted to ask questions about or give input on. This is a luxury not
all universities have, yet CMU students find it more appropriate to attend a
forum based on sex, rather than give their input on the campus they are so quick
to complain about.
The new CM LIFE Web site allows students to read a story printed in the newspaper
and write responses. This, too, is an area where students are showing their
ignorance.
The top three stories receiving responses from students are an article about
Michele Caldwell and Melissa VanGoethem leaving Panhellenic Council due to Greek
Week events, a column written by Julie Price on the Greek Week events and the
coverage of the “Sex Lines” presentation.
While all responses were not negative, the bulk of them either personally attacked
the credibility of CM LIFE or the author of the article.
Assistant News Editor Tiffany Woods presented the article explaining why the
two students left the Panhellenic Council due to the events transpiring at Greek
Week.
The responses ranged from a freshman previously interested in Greek life being
turned off, to Greek members wanting to keep coverage out of CM LIFE because
of poor representation.
No. 1, coverage of Greek events is something CM LIFE takes seriously. We want
to portray the Greek system to the best of our ability whenever possible.
As a freshman, I hope he/she realizes this is not the only side of Greek
life. However, whatever organization someone decides to join, each one has its
problems. Some are just more apparent than others.
In reference to Julie Price’s column, responses accused her of using CM LIFE as a venue
for promoting her sorority Delta Zeta and expressed disapproval of the Greek
system in general.
Personally attacking someone by using false information is called something
most people learned in English class: Libel — defined as something written
or printed that unjustly damages a person’s reputation.
The “Sex Lines” coverage was third in responses ranging from how the
story was not newsworthy to how unhappy parents would be to see how their “hard-earned
money” was being spent.
The newsworthiness of a story is something every person on staff gives input
on. Preparation for the newspaper takes anywhere from 10 to 14 hours every Tuesday,
Thursday and Sunday, and everyone on staff puts forth a great amount of time
and effort to make the paper what it is.
While some may not agree with what transpired at the event, the fact is, an
RSO sponsored the event. Regardless of the content, we make it a priority to
report on the efforts of all RSOs on campus.
As for a parent being upset about what their money goes toward on campus, here
is a breakdown:
Only 26.5 percent of the revenue from the campus programming fee — $82,395.13
— goes to the Student Budget Allocation Committee, which in turn gives
the RSOs their funding.
As of Jan. 7, 185 RSOs are listed under the Student Life link of the CMU Web
site, and the SBAC determines how much funding each organization receives per
event based on need.
The Family Life and Human Sexuality Organization received no funding from the
SBAC for the event, so parents of students can rest assured their money isn’t
funding a university promoting orgies and promiscuity.
Working for CM LIFE is not as easy a task as some would think. Long hours, hard
work and little pay are the joys student journalists must endure. But the real
payoff comes from the experience.
Feedback from the community is something we all respect and encourage. However,
there is a difference between constructive criticism and ignorance.
LIFE Assistant News Editor Tony Francetic can be reached via e-mail at ane1@cm-life.com.