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Volume CXVIII, No. 7
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Thursday, April 14, 2016
Thriday April 14, 2016
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New updates to the College’s poster policy This Week’s Top Stories National Ethan Couch, infamous for being known as the “affluenza” teen, was ordered by a Texas judge to spend 720 days in jail, as he has now transitioned to adult court. The District Judge stipulated that he will give the defense two weeks to make a counter argument. In 2013, Couch caused a drunken-driving car crash which killed four people and left two other in critical condition. He was charged with intoxication manslaughter and given ten years of probation. His lawyers at the time suggested he suffered from “affluenza” and was too rich to understand the consequences of his actions.
The Student Life Committee has reviewed the existing policy and made changes B y K ayla B ritt N ews E ditor Within the past few weeks, the Student Life Committee (SLC) reviewed the existing Freedom of Expression/posting policy, comparing it to policies at other colleges and engaging in thorough discussion within the SLC. On April 7, the new Commitment to Freedom of Expression and Civil Discourse policy was approved and is now available on the Gettysburg College website. The highlights of the policy were sent out in an email by Dean Julie Ramsey. “The members of the Student Life Committee had a strong consensus about the way in which the policy might be developed- I think the issues are challenging, but in that sense coming to a decision was not difficult,” said Dean Ramsey. “The goal is to articulate the core principles around freedom of expression and civil discourse. The College always wants to make those points about what we care about. My hope is that it gets people to pay
attention to how what they post affects other people.” Although there was a policy in place to address the issue of posters and flyers being posted around campus, the new policy takes into account recent developments to be more comprehensive. “You write something and it doesn’t address a certain situation or issue- so it was time for a revision. The policy had not been revised in quite some time,” said Dean Ramsey. The SLC, which is composed of three students, three faculty and four administrators, aimed to do several things: acknowledge that sometimes there are going to be things posted that are offensive to other people and put constraints on size, shape and distribution of posted material. It is important for students to voice opinions and concerns, but there are parameters within which to express those concerns. Although these new policy changes focus mainly on posters, with some information regarding chalking and physical demonstrations,
The Commitment to Freedom of Expression and Civil Discourse policy was recently updated by the Student Life Committee, which is composed of students, faculty and administrators. there will need to be more work done related to harassment and way written expression can have an impact. The current policy focuses on harassment in the
context of verbal expression. “How the SLC wants to approach that will be more difficult,” said Dean Ramsey. On-campus groups
Event raises awareness about sexual violence Take Back the Night featured readings of the Green People tesimonials by SASA
International
This week’s “Top Stories” were compiled by Kayla Britt with information from CNN (www.cnn.com) and Project Syndicate (www. project-syndicate.org)
Take Back the Night was hosted by the Women’s Center on April 7. Some of the highlights of the evening were visiting the Peace memorial to commemorate a student who was the victim of domestic homicide and the reading of Green People testimonials by SASA. B y J ulia S ippel in 1973 when it responded awareness and aid in end- the Night” in the Junction. to pornography in San Fran- ing sexual assault, domestic Accompanied by Pastor DonS taff W riter Take Back the Night is cisco and the serial killing violence, and other forms of n e l l a , F a i t h B i e s e c k e r o f DPS, members of Survivors, a charitable foundation that of black women in Los An- sexual violence. geles. O n T h u r s d a y , A p r i l Inc. and SASA, and other started in Europe over fifty From there, the group 7, this theme came to the students, the event highyears ago. has held countless marches College when the Women’s lighted what the organizaThe organization made a n d o t h e r e v e n t s t o r a i s e Center hosted “Take Back tion stands for. a name for itself in America
Inside This Issue
Understanding why girls kidnapped by the Boko Haram would choose to become suicide bombers is a complex issue. It appears they choose to do so not because they are brainwashed by abuse, but because the hunger, sexual abuse, and constant sounds of violence are overwhelming- so much so that it seems like an escape. Some hope that if given a suicide bomb they would meet soldiers who would help them and be able to run away from the Boko Haram, according to one of the kidnapped girls. Many of the girls are kidnapped and forced to marry members of the Boko Haram, then ostracized by their communities even if they are able to escape.
have until April 18 to make sure all postings comply with the new policy.
Tech companies Greek Week, Weird News, and the wage gap, pg. 2 pg. 2 pg. 4
Health and the importance of stretching, pg. 5
One aspect that particularly stood out for at tendees was a reading of the Green People testimonials by SASA. “It’s raw, personal, and truly effective for getting people to care more about active prevention of violence on campus,” said one member. Biesecker enjoyed the night, as well. “I think the event is very important and meaningful. It brings awareness to a very serious issue occurring all over the world.” At another point in the evening, the group walked to the Peace memorial to commemorate a student who was the victim of murder in a domestic violence setting. Overall, Take Back the Night succeeded in spreading awareness of these issues and bringing members of campus together to discuss the issues. There will be more events hosted throughout the month as part of Sexual Assault Awareness Month. For more information, students can contact SASA, Survi vors, Inc., or visit takebackthenight.org. More information on thes topics will also be available throughout April at SASA CUB tables.
Opinion: Presidential Primary Scorecards, pg. 7
Softball sweeps Ursinus, pg. 8