Abstract:
The Editor in Chief of The Lafayette shares her perspective on the rivalry....
Originally posted byJoe
Stop that!
The simple fact is that rivalry days have become nothing more than an excuse to abuse yourself and others.
First, you argue that the drunken debauchery might allow for the fact that "[m]emories are made." Those memories come at the direct expense of civility, responsibility, and (in many cases) the law. In what has become functionally a college-sanctioned free-for-all on campus property, students and alumni actively encourage underage and binge drinking because that is what they were taught to do by now a century of tradition.
Next, you argue that the active expression of hate to another person is somehow cathartic. That seems to be in direct conflict with the frustration and anger that sets in when someone just wants to walk across campus that day and gets verbally and physically assaulted for wearing their school's colors. I guess the fact that _you_ enjoyed it makes it okay.
Finally, you argue that the "hate we have during game day is very much rooted in a love I think we all have for being young." There is no possible world in which this comment is justified. I cannot walk into downtown Easton and shoot someone without punishment simply because I did it to feel young again. That feeling doesn't make the action good, nor does it prevent the pain that I have caused.
This is the school's paper. It has at least some obligation to report the facts as unfettered by popular belief. Instead, this article seems to be a large campus-wide P.R. move that only entrenches an already degrading system. Worse, the author is a very intelligent and well-connected girl whose opinion (if that is the contents of this article) actually has sway with some very important people whose job should be the safety and security of its student body.
Originally posted bysticking up for the so-called enemy
The fact that you escalate her point to something involving guns means...
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Joe
posted 11/16/09 @ 2:18 PM EST
The simple fact is that rivalry days have become nothing more than an excuse to abuse yourself and others.
First, you argue that the drunken debauchery might allow for the fact that "[m]emories are made." Those memories come at the direct expense of civility, responsibility, and (in many cases) the law. In what has become functionally a college-sanctioned free-for-all on campus property, students and alumni actively encourage underage and binge drinking because that is what they were taught to do by now a century of tradition.
Next, you argue that the active expression of hate to another person is somehow cathartic. That seems to be in direct conflict with the frustration and anger that sets in when someone just wants to walk across campus that day and gets verbally and physically assaulted for wearing their school's colors. I guess the fact that _you_ enjoyed it makes it okay.
Finally, you argue that the "hate we have during game day is very much rooted in a love I think we all have for being young." There is no possible world in which this comment is justified. I cannot walk into downtown Easton and shoot someone without punishment simply because I did it to feel young again. That feeling doesn't make the action good, nor does it prevent the pain that I have caused.
This is the school's paper. It has at least some obligation to report the facts as unfettered by popular belief. Instead, this article seems to be a large campus-wide P.R. move that only entrenches an already degrading system. Worse, the author is a very intelligent and well-connected girl whose opinion (if that is the contents of this article) actually has sway with some very important people whose job should be the safety and security of its student body.