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opinion
Friday, January 19, 2018 The Baylor Lariat
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EDITORIAL
COLUMN
‘The Office’ reboot may raise concerns MICHAEL KARR Broadcast Intern
Rewon Shimray | Cartoonist
Better safe than sorry Calling for snow day demonstrates proactive concern for student safety Baylor students and staff observed a snow day Tuesday despite the lack of a rather essential element: Snow. This has lead to sarcastic remarks about the tempestuous weather conditions that resulted in a four-day weekend. Besides just being thankful for an extra day off from school and work, we are also thankful to the Baylor administration for exercising prudence when it comes to the safety of Baylor students and staff. “Please know that we do not take the decision to close campus lightly, particularly this early in the semester. We consult with various state and local emergency management officials as well as the National Weather Service to make a prudent decision for your safety and security,” Baylor President Dr. Linda A. Livingstone wrote in a Presidential Perspective email to the Baylor family Thursday afternoon. Central Texas was put under a Winter Storm Warning from midnight to 6 p.m. Tuesday due to a cold front expected to bring freezing rain, sleet and snow, according to an email from Baylor sent to students and staff at 4:25 p.m. Monday. At 9:43 p.m. Monday, Baylor announced it would be closing the campus Tuesday “because of winter weather conditions.” In places such as the East coast or the Midwest, these frigid temperatures can be expected, and as a result, they are often well planned for. However, in Central Texas, wintry conditions don’t often amount to icy roads and snow flurries. In fact, Waco experienced temperatures nearing and sometimes breaking record lows Tuesday and Wednesday. Due to Central Texans’ general lack of experience with icy roads and winter storms, Baylor made the right call in being overly-cautious. It is better to be proactive than reactive when faced with potentially fatal risks. Local news outlets had predicted inclement weather conditions and dangerously icy roads. After most people experienced a snow-free snow day, local meteorologists were quick to admit their mistake. “Believe me, all of the local TV weather folk are the recipients
of a number of criticisms today. I, for one, accept them. I am most sorry for workers, who are paid hourly wages, and whose employer elected to close down today. And the families whose local day care decided to shut down for fear of an icy threat, leaving Moms and Dads scrambling for an alternative,” KWTX evening weather anchor Rusty Garrett wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday afternoon. Despite the inconveniences the weather reports incited, we strongly believe it is better to err on the side of caution. “Some snow did fall across our area, but it wasn’t as bad as what it could have been … I would rather be wrong, and people are safe, than the other way around,” KXXV chief meteorologist Matt Hines wrote in a Facebook post Tuesday morning. In fact, according to Time Magazine, extreme cold weather has been responsible for at least nine deaths this year across the country, and has caused other injuries, accidents and a frozen water tower in Iowa. Time Magazine also reports that a few weeks ago, the local police chief in Abilene, Texas said “more than three dozen vehicle crashes were reported in 24 hours.” Maybe the snow day seemed unnecessary to those of us who commute to Baylor by walking to class from our dorm or biking from our off-campus apartments. Some professors and students, however, have a much longer and likely more treacherous journey to campus. In 2016, road surface conditions resulting from cold temperatures accounted for a total of 860 vehicle crashes statewide, according to the Texas Department of Transportation. While it is true that rain can also contribute to the likelihood of car crashes, Central Texans are more experienced with the caution required to navigate wet roads. Icy roads, particularly black ice, is not as easily seen by drivers, and ignoring its dangerous potential can have fatal consequences. When people’s lives could be in danger, it’s much better to plan ahead and be wrong, than to do nothing and deal with the consequences.
ONLINE THIS WEEK EDITORIAL: Humanitarian aid fails to meet long-term objectives “Changing the world “for the better” can be subjective, but when it comes to the fight against poverty specifically, there are measurable indicators that tell us what is effective, and what has proven to merely mask the symptoms of suffering.”
R e a d m o r e a t B AY L O R L A R I AT. C O M
Meet the Staff EDITOR-IN-CHIEF Bailey Brammer*
SPORTS EDITOR Nathan Keil
PRINT MANAGING EDITOR Molly Atchison*
MULTIMEDIA EDITOR Jessica Hubble
DIGITAL MANAGING EDITOR Didi Martinez
OPINION EDITOR McKenna Middleton*
SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR Kaitlyn DeHaven
CARTOONIST Rewon Shimray*
MULTIMEDIA JOURNALISTS Baylee VerSteeg Josh Aguirre Ellie Thorne Ryan Barrett
NEWS EDITOR Kalyn Story*
STAFF WRITERS Julia Vergara Micaela Freeman Reagan Ebb Thomas Moran
AD REPRESENTATIVES Josh Whitney Evan Hurley Sheree Zou Quinn Stowell
SPORTS WRITERS Ben Everett Giana Piroli
MARKETING REPRESENTATIVE Luke Kissick Caden Bell
COLUMNIST Collin Bryant*
DELIVERY DRIVERS Cayden Orred Alexis Whiteford
ASSISTANT NEWS EDITOR Adam Gibson DESIGN EDITOR Penelope Shirey COPY EDITOR Brooke Hill ARTS & LIFE EDITOR Meredith Wagner*
BROADCAST MANAGING EDITOR Christina Soto
BROADCAST REPORTERS Elisabeth Tharp Rylee Seavers Meredith Aldis Branson Hardcastle
One of the greatest shows of all time, “The Office,” has a rumored reboot in the works. This may or may not be a good thing. “The Office” has landed a spot in the hearts of many people as a favorite TV show, including mine. I use quotes from the show daily, love a good laugh session over a specific scene from the show, take pride in my Kevin Malone impression and am on my seventh viewing of the series. When rumors surfaced that NBC was considering rebooting the series, I found myself at a crossroads. On one hand, I would love to see how my favorite characters are doing and how the lives of these characters have changed, but on the other hand, many reboots of TV shows have mixed results, meaning the show I hold dear would have a not-so-great part to it. Rebooting has become a popular trend today in media. From the awakening of The Force with the new Star Wars trilogy or simply re-making shows like the new Teen Titans Go series, although many reboots have been made well, many have flopped. I decided to let the idea soak. Surely the former directors and producers of the series would not let me down. After all, these are the same people who provided nine full seasons of laughter and emotional investment. As time went by, I started to think about what the reboot could possibly be about. Jim and Pam could be living successfully in The Lone Star State, or maybe they traveled on as Jim’s business grew. Dwight and Angela may be happily married, or not. There is no way of telling how the producers will take this reboot. Thinking about the reboot left me with one main problem: I am perfectly happy with how the original series ended. I know that every character in the show ended the series happy and with the people they love, no matter where they were. With this reboot, I worry that will change or that I will get invested in a whole new problem that arises between these formerly happy people. After discussing this dilemma with other fans of “The Office,” I realized that many of them feel the same way I do. They also felt that there is no need to change a perfectly positive ending to a fantastic show. Although this may seem a common consensus, this most likely will not affect NBC’s decision to start the reboot project.
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I do not want the world of Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company to be changed”
“The Office” that I know and love is one precious thing that I hope does not get ruined with the reboot. I do not want the world of Dunder-Mifflin Paper Company to be changed or altered and change what I expected the characters’ lives to become at the end of the series. Another reason the reboot may not succeed is the lack of ideas for the plot line and characters that viewers would want to watch. I am sure many viewers, including myself, would love to see the return of Michael Scott and hear his take on emojis and missile rumors, but he is not expected to be in the reboot. I want to like the reboot, and hopefully it will be made to the liking of viewers everywhere. This would only further my love for the series and the characters that exist in it. Nobody knows what this revival will look like, but we can only hope for one thing – that the writers will reignite our passion for “The Office” and show us the aspects of Scranton, Pennsylvania that we all know and love. Michael Karr is a freshman journalism major from Waco.
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