Opinion
The Mirror | Week of March 7, 2012
Letter to the Editor
Response to "Bridgeport Club Threatens Student Safety"
To begin, I want to make clear that in no way is this a response to the writer of the article. I repeat: I am not attacking the person but rather critiquing the writing of “Bridgeport Club Threatens Student Safety," published on March 2. On the night of the Act Against forum a lot of my friends spoke against the front page of The Mirror’s last article. This is my attempt to take our frustration and respond in a rational and systematic way. To be clear, the premise for the “Bridgeport Club Threatens Student Safety” article is that there was a recent shooting at Bridgeport where no Fairfield University students were involved or injured. One obvious problem is the narrowed view of the article. If you are not reporting on an incident regarding Fairfield students but want to address the dangers of leaving campus or attending night clubs, then why not support the article with other incidents from neighboring towns and cities?
If the article was to enlighten us on the potential dangers of night life outside of Fairfield, then why not include New Haven, parts of New York, etc... The Bridgeport story could have opened the article but to have it as the only example of dangerous places that could affect Fairfield is limited journalism and biased writing. I understand the role of a newspaper and its responsibility to relay relevant and important information to the audience. The basic: tell us what we want to know and what we should be aware of. So, I am not asking you to be sensitive or avoid touchy topics – that’s not good journalism. This isn’t a call for limitations but a call for writers to dig deeper beyond the superficial stereotypes when writing an article. This article is a perfect example of cherry picking. Although the focus seems to be dangers outside of Fairfield, only the negatives of Bridgeport are used to inform this focus. This article marginalized the Bridgeport commuters, as well as
Bridgeport students. The image and title further stigmatized their home. When dealing with controversial topics (especially some of our homes), consider the manner in which it is presented and its effects on the student body. Consider if it is only showing a limited view of a greater issue. Next time you need a big story for the cover of The Mirror, why not consider the educational Head Start program or the Boys and Girls Club of Bridgeport? Last week’s newspaper came out blazing with its bold cover picture and charged with the Bridgeport stereotype – then that very same day, students spoke out against these stereotypes. The Mirror was a reflection of what we were against and not what was important to Fairfield students. Our newspaper should reflect what is relevant to us. All I know is this isn’t what I stand for. Last week’s issue was not my – our school newspaper.
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• Spring Break starts after • Fairfield's Basketball this week. teams both lost in the MAAC Championship. • Midterms are over after • Ticketmaster blocked this week. Fairfield students from their site during the Blackout pre-sale. • Fairfield's Basketball teams both made it to the • Midwest tornado last MAAC Championship. week killed and injured many. • St. Patty's Day is on a Saturday this year.
• Disappearing salt and pepper shakers in Barone.
• The Men's Lacrosse team is ranked 17th in the nation.
• April Open Visions Forum speaker Neil DeGrasse Tyson has been replaced.
- Crystal Rodriguez
High School and Motherhood Now Two in One How today's reality TV shows are potentially changing the standards of society By Emily Kert Contributing Writer The teenage years are often a turbulent developmental stage of an individual's life. It is a period associated with growth, self-discovery, risk-taking, and forming close relationships. While teenage years may be a period of carefree bliss for some, for others who may have failed to pay close attention during health class, it may be a time of dealing with the financial and emotional stresses of becoming new parents. While teachers and parents alike hope that teenagers will adhere to their advice and use proper contraception before having sex, nowadays they have become adapted to making necessary accommodations when an accidental pregnancy does occur. It doesn't take a genius to realize that being a teen parent is challenging. The teenager faces embarrassment, financial stresses, relationship drama, and a delay for his or her education. And, with our first black president in the white house and the percentage of gay marriages increasing, we are clearly becoming a more liberal nation. What is confusing, however, is where the line between openmindedness and conservativeness is supposed to be drawn. Back in the 1940s and 1970s, the teen pregnancy solution was sending the mothers to maternity homes where they were browbeaten and forced to give their children up for adoption. In his 1850 romantic
work of fiction, Nathaniel Hawthorne explores the themes of legalism, sin and guilt, as the reader follows the journey of Hester Prynne, who conceives a daughter through an adulterous affair and is shamed by the community by having to bear the symbolic letter A across her chest. Being a teen mom or having a baby out of wedlock have always had shameful connotations. With the increasing popularity of the hit MTV reality show, "Teen Mom," however, there is question as to whether or not our society is glamorizing teen pregnancy and reducing its standards of human behavior. Every night, millions of Americans are turning on their television screens to watch episodes of "Teen Mom." Last season consisted of the troubled teen mom, Amber Portwood, verbally and physically abuse her boyfriend in front of her baby girl, Leah. Audiences watched as vindictive teen mom Farrah Abraham manipulated her overly generous parents. Another teen mom, Catelynn, coped with her choice to put her baby up for adoption while simultaneously
battling a verbally abusive, alcoholic mother and a jailbird step-father. In this year's season of Teen Mom 2, viewers are lucky enough to be entertained by Jenelle Evans, arguably the most outrageous teen mom yet. Viewers get to see Jenelle make a series of confusing decisions, some of which include smoking weed while pregnant, neglecting her baby, screaming in her mother's face, getting kicked out of her house, dating an abusive, alcoholic boyfriend, getting arrested, beating up other girls, stealing her mother's credit card, and taking advantage of a friend who lets her move in. Me a n w h i l e, anyone who has recently gone to a grocery store has probably also learned that the teen mother of twins, Leah Messer, has discovered she is expecting again. Apparently, having twins wasn't enough to teach her to use contracep-
tives properly. At the conclusion of the season, viewers get to see each of the teens receive bundles of empathy from the famous celebrity therapist, Dr. Drew, who reminds us yet again that teen pregnancy is one hundred percent preventable. Meanwhile, these young women are earning between $60,000 to $65,000 per episode, and their faces are decorating the covers of "People" magazines in hundreds of grocery store checkout lines. Having these young women being portrayed throughout the media sheds light on the issue regarding who we want as our role models. While it is natural to have empathy towards teen mothers, is giving them their own television show, a front spot on "People" magazine, thousands of dollars, and the utmost empathy from the world's most famous celebrity doctor reducing our society's standards? When did childbearing become an act reserved for the one we loved instead of a means to have a reality show? Though the show in itself is undoubtedly entertaining, its purpose is confusing. Does it reemphasize an already obvious point or does it question the definition of a role model? Tolerance is important, but whether or not too much tolerance reduces our standards of human behavior is a controversy to consider.