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THE SAINT | WEDNESDAY, APRIL 10, 2013
Media and moral responsibility
FROM THE CROWD
APPLAUSE TO...
Michigan basketball, for exceeding expectations;
By Carly Plank The Saint Reporter
Woodland theater, for letting us see Oscarnominated movies for cheap; Finding Dory, for being a real movie that’s happening; Game of Thrones, for bringing us quality entertainment; Students in Action, for recognizing and rewarding Aquinas’ hard-working students; Jimmy Fallon, for his promotion; Roger Ebert, for a lifetime of reminding us what’s great about movies;
One glance at the website of the Steubenville, Ohio high school football team introduces the pride of a community. A crimson and black stallion rears atop the football scoreboard and countless state and regional championships dating back to 1930 are splashed across the page to the backbeat of a rolling, trumpeted fight song for the ages. The team’s most recent State Championship title was in 2011. There is no evidence of the swirling debates sparked by events that took place in August of 2012, but apparently, the team made the playoffs that year. On March 17, 2013, two members of the Steubenville football team were found guilty of rape committed in the early morning hours of August 12, 2012. Unlike the national news media, I will not be mentioning the names of the minors convicted of rape, and cer-
HECKLES TO...
Social media, for airing everyone’s dirty laundry;
The Scary Movie franchise, for not knowing when to die; Kim Kardashian, for making us look at her baby bump; Giant projects, for being due all at the same time; Daniel Craig, for holding out on the Girl with the Dragon Tattoo sequel.
theSaint 2012-2013 E D I T O R I A L B O A R D Editor-in-Chief News Editor Culture Editor
Stephanie Giluk Laura Farrell Paris Close
Sports Editor Managing Editor
Alyssa Frese Michelle Szczap
Adviser Dr. Dan Brooks *** Please note that the views expressed on this page are those of their respective author(s), and do not necessarily represent the views of The Saint as a whole.
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fenders. However, what was not examined is a larger story than what was publicly revealed. Regardless of whether the victim recalled the incident, she was humiliated and betrayed by people close to her in a way that irreparably affected her outlook on herself and on humanity. Steubenville is a football town where championship seasons are lauded, where evidence of a losing season is hard to find. The public turned away from disappointing scenes on the field, just as the nation turned away from the ugly yet invisible scars left upon the victim. In order to work towards preventing rape, the guilty need to be analyzed so motives can be isolated and addressed on local, state, and national levels because on the outside, there is no evidence. All that is visible is the scoreboard.
A response to “Fighting for equality”
PDA, for making us feel uncomfortable;
Summer, for not being here yet;
tainly not that of the 16-year-old victim. When CNN, Fox News, and MSNBC aired an uncensored apology by one of the guilty men addressing the victim by name, her identity flooded screens across the country, adding to the firestorm of virtual harassment directed towards the victim, who had already been subjected to threats from those in her community siding with the football players. Additionally, many media outlets originally placed emphasis on the effects of the crime on the defendants rather than the emotional impact on the victim. The victim admitted she had little memory of the night of the crime, which somehow put her entirely at fault in the eyes of many. She was just a drunk girl at a party. She put herself in the position to be assaulted. Girls should be more careful when they drink. Now the futures of two formerly exalted football prospects are ruined, as they are viewed by the eyes of the law as sexual of-
Letter to the Editor
April showers, for replacing winter snow.
Jonathan Knight, for refusing to be a new kid on the block;
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By Daniel Luckenbaugh Guest Writer Dear Editors: I found the article “Fighting for equality” in the February 21 issue good journalism, covering both sides of the controversy of the BSOA’s ban on homosexual participation. However, I found the title biased against Scouting. Joining Scouting was one of the best decisions I have ever made, and the three years I spent earning Eagle Scout were well spent. As an Eagle, I am jealous for the BSOA and believe that the word “homophobia” that many people have used about this issue is a sign of prejudice against this wonderful organization. Personally, I have just one question for those who want the policy overturned: “How do you suggest that Scouting protect against the possibility that gay
adults and Scouts may want to have sex with their straight comrades on campouts, and similar scenarios?” If measures can be taken, then perhaps the BSOA should lift the ban if it decides that doing so will not betray Scouting’s core principles. Often the truth is not so clear. This is one example. What is best for Scouting? The people in charge of the BSOA cannot control how the Scouting community will respond to the removal of the ban. Human beings make their own decisions. Will lifting the ban hurt Scouting or help it or what? The people in charge of Scouting do not know and cannot control that. Yet their job is to seek the best interest of the organization. Now I would like to answer, from a biblical perspective due to Scouting’s Christian foundation, Miss Occhipinti’s question how this policy is any different from racism or discrimination against women.
The Bible calls homosexuality immoral, but it does not call being a certain race or being female immoral—that is the difference. Finally, I would like to say that those accusing Scouting of discrimination, homophobia, etc. are themselves intolerant. Those who do not like the morality of Scouting have no basis for using it against Scouting itself—that is irrational. Additionally, this world is messed up due to the Fall. Homosexuality was not part of the original plan. The opposite sexes attract each other; even opposite electric charges (but not the same charges) attract each other. But God does let humans reject His path. Should Scouting thus lift the ban? Perhaps. But anti-BSOA attitudes, such as Madonna’s recent antics, are themselves discrimination, intolerance, bigotry, and prejudice—and thus hypocrisy.
Remembering a critic who made the movies magic By Stephanie Giluk Editor-in-Chief Everyone has most likely heard by now that Roger Ebert, longtime film critic for the Chicago Sun-Times, passed away Thursday, April 4. His passing occurred just two days after Ebert announced on his journal that his cancer, which he was first diagnosed with in 2002, had returned and that he was taking a “leave of presence.” He had planned to continue writing select reviews himself but would trust a team of writers to write the majority of reviews. His last film review, on his website, is of Terrence Malik’s To the Wonder, which is to be released on April 12. Ebert gave the movie three and a half stars. Though I wasn’t around yet when Ebert and Gene Siskel premiered Sneak Previews on PBS in 1978, I’m as familiar with their thumbs-up, thumbs-down reviews as anyone else. Siskel and Ebert were able to be critical of movies
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and of each other without being disagreeable or obnoxious, and the pair ’s love for movies helped audiences everywhere share the duo’s passion for moviegoing. Ebert’s greatest asset, I think, was his lack of snobbery. He was a film critic, and a very popular and successful one at that, but he was never arrogant or condescending. When he told you about a movie, it was like listening to or reading something from a friend, not some highbrow, snooty critic. He made you excited to see movies because he genuinely loved films and that love shone through in all his positive reviews. His passion for movies allowed him to wax poetic about films he loved, but he didn’t hold back when he found fault, because he knew the joy and wonder that great movies are capable of bringing to people. Ebert didn’t just tell us what he thought about the movies he reviewed; he also told us to think for ourselves, to watch critically, and that’s a skill far more invaluable that being able to Website www.aquinas.edu/thesaint
simply say if a movie is good or bad. Ebert gave all movies a chancethis is the man, after all, who gave Transformers (yes, the one directed by Michael Bay and starring Shia LeBeouf) three stars in his review of the film for the Sun-Times, describing it as “goofy fun with a lot of stuff that blows up real good, and it has the grace not only to realize how preposterous it is, but to make that into an asset.” When a critic can admit to liking Transformers, you know you can trust him. I liked Ebert’s reviews because he believed in movies the way I do. For both of us, I think, it comes down to a love of storytelling, an appreciation for seeing something beautiful, tragic or epic (or all three) play out on a big screen. Ebert knew how to write effusively and eloquently about the magic that can happen at the movies in a way few others could. His presence and guidance will be sorely missed.