2
Weekend Edition May 3 | 2012 NEWSRECORD.ORG
OPINION
CAPITAL
CRITIC JASON
HOFFMAN
Discharge deserved for Marine
Marines swear to “support and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, foreign and domestic … and to obey the orders of the president of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the Uniform Code of Military Justice. So help me God.” Simplistic explanations need not be voiced because the First Amendment isn’t mentioned. It is the most important liberty afforded American citizens, but it must be treated with all due respect. The First Amendment to the Constitution of the United States guarantees several things — the freedom of the press, religion and, most importantly, speech — namely speech of a political nature. Every day, activists from both sides of the political aisle espouse their beliefs all over the country, strengthening part of the fundamental foundation that holds this nation together, but it’s not an all-inclusive right for some. As a member of the media — albeit as a collegiate journalist and intern — it’s with the utmost regard I hold freedoms of speech and the press. This situation, however, warrants unusual scrutiny. Former Marine Sgt. Gary Stein was officially ordered to be other-than-honorably discharged from the military April 25. His crime? He started a Facebook page dedicated to ousting President Barack Obama from office in addition to selling bumper stickers and T-shirts calling for the same. Stein overstepped his rights and knew the consequences going in. Call it bias, hate for the military, disdain for the Marine Corps, or whatever you like. The plain and simple fact is this man signed a contract handing over his First Amendment rights and later violated said contract. Having served as a noncommissioned officer (NCO) in the Marine Corps, I understand both the hell of war and the disgust felt, at times, for elected officials. Those feelings, no matter their strength, cannot allow a Marine NCO to abandon his or her oath nor the obligatory respect owed to the commander in chief. We are the “president’s own,” or so the moniker attached to our band says. Stein’s situation is not unheard of. During the early days of Operation Iraqi Freedom, a multitude of service members from the Army and Air Force were seen on many broadcast news stations stating their request for Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld to resign and even then-President George W. Bush to do the same. They should have been punished in the same manner, but the times were different then. Soldiers in the early days of a war, with bodies rotting around them and the threat of death creeping into the forefront of their brain, are subject to a small measure of dissent and ill-planned disrespect toward authority — it’s understood to a certain extent. “Peacetime” dissent against a sitting president, however, can never be tolerated. Especially from Marines. When joining the armed services, each man and woman hands over certain rights to serve the most powerful military in the world. These rights, while valued among civilians, are merely a speed bump to the positive mental attitude needed to lead soldiers, sailors, airmen and Marines into the depths of perdition and live to fight another day. The military is not an easy life — check out the more than 70 percent divorce rate or the stream of stories in the media depicting tales of rampant drunkenness, assaults or suicides. You can gauge a measure of its stress. That being said, such a life is not a reason to betray the man charged with your service. There were times when I questioned the purpose of our involvement in Iraq, and my oath was tested when, serving under Obama, I was
Student loan reform needed for future ALAN HAGERTY A national political debate has kicked off regarding the July 1 interest rate hike on subsidized Stafford Loans. The good news is that both Republicans and Democrats have expressed support to keep the rate from doubling to 6.8 percent. It is vitally important that momentum is maintained to prevent the increase and to start a broader conversation about the issue of student debt that affects students all across Ohio. As the student body president of the University of Cincinnati, I see how heavily the costs of debt weigh on potential students, current students and recent graduates. That’s why I joined with nearly 200 other student presidents and represented approximately 2.5 million students to provide the perspective of the very constituency that will be affected by this change. If Congress does not act, the July rate hike will hit 7.4 million students who are currently paying for college with the help of a subsidized Stafford Loan. A 6.8 percent interest rate will cost the average college student an additional $1,000 per year that they are in school. Consider Phillip Dinovo, a well-known student leader at the University of Cincinnati. An above-average high school student, he has
succeeded in college but hasn’t received much in terms of performance-based scholarships. Moreover, his family owns a small business, increasing his tax bracket and reducing his need-based financial aid package. Thus, at the end of his fourth of five years at a public institution, Dinovo now has more than $45,000 LETTER TO in student loan debt. THE EDITOR He is already nervous about graduating because, at that moment, the repayment clock starts ticking. State budget shortfalls are leading to increasing cuts in higher education appropriations and college costs are rising at both public and private institutions. The average borrower comes out of school with more than $25,250 of loans — up from $9,250 in 1993. Americans as a whole owe $1 trillion in student debt. Carrying this much debt this early in one’s working life means that my generation now starts their careers and begins building their lives several steps behind. Monthly payments keep graduates from being able to afford homes, cars and, in some cases, even rent, forcing a move back home restricting geographic and occupational mobility. Borrowers often cannot take jobs that will
have greater earnings and opportunity for career advancement in the long run if they have alternative work with higher shortterm pay levels. They find it harder to start their own businesses and may even be turned down for jobs if the employer requires a credit check. At the same time, while the costs are growing, a college education is becoming more and more necessary to make it in Ohio and across the country. A 2011 study showed that getting a bachelor’s degree increased a person’s lifetime earnings by 74 percent compared to graduating from high school alone. For my generation, landing a job that pays enough to support a family is becoming more and more difficult for those priced-out of postsecondary education. By 2018, 63 percent of jobs will require workers with a college degree or other postsecondary education. As it stands now, we will be at least 3 million degrees short of meeting that need. I can look around in class and see the future of America seated next to me. But if we’re going to have a future that works for everyone, we need to reform the way we deal with student debt. Alan Hagerty is the student body president at the University of Cincinnati.
Silent protest better than religious hijinx MAX MOLLERAN | TNR CONTRIBUTOR Tuesday afternoon on campus showcased an important juxtaposition happening during the normal, day-to-day of campus life: The University of Cincinnati Alliance was hosting a grill out in celebration of gay pride week while one of the many evangelical groups was giving fire and brimstone sermons on an adjacent hill. Christian groups like this come to campus fairly regularly and, most times, students would gather around the preachers and begin to confront them with shouts and derogatory jokes — this time a very different kind of protest began. Second-year journalism student, Luca Acito, sat down in front of the preachers with a small sign that read, “Don’t these guys have something better to do?” This simple demonstration was noticed by third-year psychology student Jason Brown, who decided to join him. “I really don’t believe that we should have to deal with our ears being harassed for hours
on end,” Acito said..“People shouldn’t have to be put down in order to believe something.” As Brown and Acito protested, several passersby showed their support. Immediately, the two protesters decided to see if they could get more people to join with them. “Acito would say ‘If you don’t have class, you could join us,’ ” Brown said. “We got a couple takers. Some of them would have to go, but they would just be replaced.” As more students joined the protest or passed by, a discussion began. “What I think a lot of people took credence with was the fact that no one wanted to hear them spout out the things they were saying,” Brown said. The preachers lectured about basic Christian values and an unquestioning faith in God. Acito said he is not necessarily against religion, but “there are better ways to go about it than yelling at every little thing that people do wrong in the preachers’ eyes.” Acito had a very different message in mind: “I just wanted people to question the morals that these ‘preachers’ seem to hold so high.”
People have largely silently protested the preachers by ignoring them, or they have overtly confronted them. Something that made this protest special was not only the dedication of the protesters — some even skipping classes to make their point — but that they did at times engage the preachers in civil and intelligent conversation. Among these topics were rape, divorce and, of course, homosexuality. “I think that silence was the correct way to protest,” Acito said. “Everything that would and could be said would be shot down and/or flipped.” Students have banded together in the past to shout at the evangelicals, only to see their arguments twisted, making dialogue very difficult. Preachers come to campus a lot at UC. Next time you see one, instead of fighting back, try Acito and Brown’s approach. It kept things calm while still getting the message out. Silent protesting might be the best way to protest anything — especially that which proclaim their cause the loudest.
Gun incident another Kent State black eye JOE BIALEK Well, it appears the ghosts of Tin Soldiers and former President Richard Nixon are coming back to the Kent State Campus. First, your most ambitious students are being charged more money because they choose to take more credit hours — without any justification for the increased fees. Second, the annual out-of-control beer party is put down by an armed SWAT LETTER TO wearing similar THE EDITOR team uniforms as the National Guardsmen did 42 years ago. Except that this time the tear gas is far more potent. Now you have a Justice Department under the leadership of a Democratic president who decides they would rather look anywhere but at KSU, or, Dealey Plaza, the Lorraine Hotel and the Ambassador Hotel for that matter. According to an article run by the Cleveland Plain Dealer: “The FBI’s Cleveland office apparently destroyed the original Strubbe tape in 1979, according to the Justice Department.” This begs the question why it wasn’t given to the Smithsonian Museum as an artifact of history? Why the rush to destroy the tape? Per the article: “Some details of the altercation Allen identified on the recording seem similar to an incident involving Terry
Norman, a Kent State law enforcement student who was carrying a concealed .38-caliber pistol during the May 4, 2011 protest.” Norman was photographing demonstrators for the Kent State University police and the FBI. He claimed he was assaulted by angry crowd members and said he drew his gun to warn them away. Further, “several witnesses said they heard a Kent State policeman who inspected Norman’s gun exclaim that it had been fired four times.” And, finally: “Some Guardsmen claimed they had fired in reaction to gunshots, possibly from a sniper...” Listening to the audio tape recording of what transpired that fatal day one can fairly easily trace the sequence of events. What prompted the Guardsmen to fire appears to be their hearing of pistol shots coming from the crowd of protesters. Now, given the hostile environment they got themselves surrounded by, any type of nearby gunfire would certainly invite a retaliatory response. Someone in an officer capacity ordered firing because they believed the Guardsmen were in harm’s way. What a bizarre series of events. All this time, because of a deliberately botched investigation by the FBI, we the American people, have been duped into thinking the deaths and injuries of 13 students were the result of some rogue element within the Ohio National Guard where, in fact, it
turns out that an undercover spy sent in by the law enforcement establishment inadvertently (or perhaps purposely) set off this chain of events when he was discovered by an angry few. The Strubbe tape is the Zapruder film of this historic event — something the “authorities” didn’t count on. One has to wonder if there was other audio — or even video — that recorded this event that was only to be confiscated by “officials” as they were in Dealey Plaza. All four events have the same common denominator: Do not mess with America’s war machine because the consequences can be deadly. Perhaps one day, other students or faculty will have the courage to come forward to tell what they know or perhaps tell what they were told not to say. Maybe KSU will have it’s own “Deep Throat” hero emerge shortly before his or her death who reveals what truly happened. As Col. Jessup in “A Few Good Men” shouts, “You can’t handle the truth.” The response by the American people must always be to “let us decide what truth we can and cannot handle” otherwise what is the point of the United States Constitution? We must get to the bottom of this tragedy before it is too late. Citizens of this great country, it’s up to you. Joe Bialek is a retired professor who lives in Cleveland.
PAC concert important tradition in Clifton During your time on the University of Cincinnati’s campus, you’ll come to learn that there is always an event taking place. The longer you spend here, the more you’ll figure out which ones are worthwhile and which ones just aren’t for you. Among the countless annual events, few are as popular and fun as the Programs and Activities Council’s Spring Concert on Sigma Sigma Commons. Outside the sports world, no other event on campus brings out as many students and their friends out of the house on a Saturday night. Best of all, it’s free for everyone. Year after year, PAC manages to book national acts for the concert and, for the most part, reviews among those who attend are positive. There are always a couple hiccups, though, like two years ago when the concert
was moved indoors, which took away from the fun. Or last year when students just weren’t feeling T-Pain and his auto-tuned step show. The resulting TNR review of T-Pain’s performance did garner STAFF a few extra laughs for EDITORIAL everybody when Mr. Pain took note of the critical review and informed the world via a series of extra-long tweets that he was “not even mad,” and that he allegedly took our school’s money and bought a Rolls Royce with it. For the record, the PAC concert is paid for with student fees and the sum paid to every year’s act is nowhere near enough to buy a Rolls. E-class Mercedes sure, but no Rolls. Every year’s act is decided upon through a process of surveys and votes, according PAC, and it seems the people want hip-hop every May.
509 AND 510 SWIFT HALL UNIVERSITY OF CINCINNATI 45221-0135 OFFICE PHONE 556-5900 OFFICE FAX 556-5922
THE NEWS RECORD FOUNDED IN 1880
The News Record, an independent, student-run news organization of the University of Cincinnati’s Communication Board, is printed during the school year every Monday, Wednesday and Thursday, except holidays and examination periods, from its office located in 509 Swift Hall and is distributed to the UC community. The News Record distributes to more than 80 locations and has a weekly circulation of 22,500. One copy per person is free. Additional copies can be picked up at The News Record office for $1.
EDITOR-IN-CHIEF ARIEL CHEUNG MANAGING EDITOR SAM GREENE
Even if hip-hop isn’t your thing, the Spring Concert is a must-see event. It’s not every day that you get to jump and dance on campus with thousands of your classmates while a Grammy Award-winning performer puts on a free show just for you and your friends. The Spring Concert brings the campus together in a celebration of the school year coming to a close. With the football and basketball seasons behind us, it’s the final opportunity of the school year for everyone to get together to make some lasting memories. It should not be missed. This year, The News Record signed on for the first time as a sponsor of the event, donating funds to show our support for what we believe to be an important student tradition.
SPORTS EDITORS BRITTANY YORK JOSH MILLER OPINION EDITOR JASON HOFFMAN
CHIEF REPORTER JAMES SPRAGUE CHIEF PHOTOGRAPHER ANNA BENTLEY
SPOTLIGHT EDITOR HOLLY ROUSE
DESIGNERS MEG DIRUTIGLIANO ALI RICE
ASSISTANT BUSINESS MANAGER JARED HOWE
PHOTO EDITOR PATRICK STRANG
PRODUCTION DESIGNER ERIN HUNTER
NEWS EDITORS ANTHONY OROZCO SCOTT WINFIELD
MULTIMEDIA EDITOR BLAKE HAWK
CLASSIFIED MANAGER KATY SCHERER
BUSINESS & ADVERTISING MANAGER KELSEY PRICE
SEE MARINE | 5 OPINION.NEWSRECORD@GMAIL.COM | 513.556.5913