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Volume CXVI, No. 19
This Week’s Top Stories National The Oregon community college shooter, Chris Harper-Mercer, was shot by a police detective last week. Harper-Mercer released fire in a mass shooting at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. Nine people were killed in the shooting. The detective who shot Harper-Mercer was one of the first to respond to the 9-1-1 phone call and likely saved many lives. His use of force in this instance has been judged to be justified, according to the Douglas County District Attorney Rick Wesenberg. The shooting elicited numerous statements from politicians on the importance of gun control laws, including President Barack Obama, who said, “Our thoughts and prayers are not enough. It’s not enough. It does not capture the heartache and grief and anger that we should feel, and it does nothing to prevent this carnage from being inflicted someplace else in America -- next week, or a couple months from now.”
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Thursday, October 8, 2015
Thursday, October 8, 2015
FREE
Young Americans for Freedom stirs controversy
Dean Julie Ramsey responds to tension surrounding “open exchange of ideas” on campus B y J ulia S ippel S taff W riter
Young Americans for Freedom has been the hottest topic on campus as of late: just ask Yik Yak. Among posts of squirrels and Antica came complaints from both sides of the debate. Beyond the anonymity of the social media application, real people had very real opinions on YAF’s coming to Gettysburg. “It’s not the club’s existence that is the reason for protest,” said Melissa Lauro, one of YAF’s critics. “It’s how they’ve gone about selling their ideas: through intimidation, shame and verbal harassment. And most of all: Hypocrisy.”
Crystal Williamson, Communications Director for Gettysburg’s YAF was the only group member to respond with comments. “YAF is meant to be a space on campus for conservatives and libertarians to share our ideals and foster debates am o n g s t o t h er s . We ar e a youth activism organization and we....offer amazing conferences that give us a chance to meet very inspirational leaders.” Others think differently. After reading the club’s now-infamous chalk advertisements, sophomore Emily Whitcomb felt “defeat, frustration, and despair.” With friends gathering in support, Whitcomb filled
bottles of water and made her feelings known. “My intention was not to erase all of their ‘promotions,’ but only the offensive ones and that’s what I did…. My thinking was, ‘If these chalk words offend even one person on campus, that’s reason enough (to me) to get rid of them. The one thing I’m intolerant of is intolerance.” Williamson made it clear that she and her fellow YAF members are well-aware of the feelings against them. “Clearly, we are also very big on fighting political correctness. We want to build a free speech zone that we have been denied. While we may offend others with our ideals, we still have the right to voice them.”
Gamma Phi Beta, Tri-Sigma and Panhellenic promote National Hazing Prevention Week
Photo Courtesy of www.novaktalks.com
The on-campus speaker, Kim Novak, is a national expert in student-focused risk management and hazing prevention, and has served on multiple higher education organizations.
Inside This Issue
This week’s “Top Stories” were compiled by Kayla Britt with information from CNN (www.cnn.com) and Project Syndicate (www. project-syndicate.org)
with your classmates and your professors and broaden your perspectives, but please do so without resorting to personal attacks and destruction of materials publicizing opposing points of view.” Whatever the actual goals may be, Alison Lauro summarized the opinion of the “anti-YAF” allies: “Overall, I think most students at Gettysburg College recognize that YAF has been promoting hateful ideas that have done nothing but divide the campus; everyone is on the defense, students who have been affected by these posters (there are many) do not feel completely safe. Sadly, I think this has been YAF’s goal all along.”
G-burg Greek Life aims to put an end to hazing
International Russia has launched an attack on Syria this past Wednesday, Oct. 7, specifically intending to target ISIS. A total of 26 missiles were fired and 11 hit their targets. Russia’s primary goal could be supporting Assad as opposed to fighting terrorism, as it would seem at the surface. Russia has, however, said it will cooperate with the United States. The United States did not agree with the strikes Russia initiated and claimed the U.S. was not involved in the operation. It has been reported that major losses of ISIS infrastructure have occurred as a result of attacks initiated by Russia. The U.S. also reports that Russia has begun to send ground forces into key areas, although Russia denies that this is occurring.
Dean Ramsey, recognizing the tension on campus, sent out an email last Friday addressing the issues at hand. “As a liberal arts institution, it is part of our core mission to encourage free inquiry and an open exchange of ideas,” Ramsey wrote. “Freedom of expression is a paramount value of this institution and I firmly believe that open debate – presented through rational, sound arguments, and absent of personal attacks – is an important part of learning and growing.” Though her words have been utilized by both sides as being in support of their standpoint in the discourse, she made her true point known. “Engage in lively discussions
Sherman Alexie’s open letter to Weird News, Gettysburg pg. 2 College, pg. 3
Opal Tometi to speak at Gondwe Lecture , pg. 6
B y N ora T idey S taff W riter Sept. 21-25 marked National Hazing Prevention Week (NHPW), and the Gettysburg College community came together to raise awareness and promote education on the problem of hazing. Hazing is defined as the imposition of strenuous, humiliating, and sometimes dangerous tasks as a part of initiation rituals. NHPW is an opportunity to learn how to recognize instances of hazing and how to prevent those instances from occurring in the first place. Throughout each day of NHPW, Tri-Sigma held a CUB table dedicated to hazing prevention. Students were able to sign an anti-hazing pledge “to prevent hazing before it occurs, stop hazing when [they] see it happening, report it when [they] know it has transpired, and help empower others to do the same in their organizations, schools, and communities.” Students could trace their hands and sign their names to show that they took the pledge and stand against any and all forms of hazing. Mia Phillips ‘16, secretary of Tri-Sigma, explained that the sorority holds a national stance against hazing and uses the slogan “Power With, Not Power Over” to emphasize that stance. On Sept. 24, Gamma Phi Beta and the Panhellenic Council sponsored a hazing prevention presentation given by Kim Novak, a national expert in student-focused risk management, engaging students in campus safety efforts and hazing prevention. She has served on the U.S. Department of Education Center for Alcohol Other Drugs and Violence Prevention, as well as on numerous
Active Minds aims to end stigma, pg. 8
other higher education organizations. Novak said she got involved in hazing prevention when she served as a student conduct official and engaged with who she described as amazing men and women who were “stellar scholars and leaders,” but who were also perpetrators of hazing in their organizations. Novak said she wanted to learn more about why this occurs and about what can be done to stop such incidents. Novak reminded everyone that hazing is against college policy, state law, council policy, and organization standards and that between 2012 and today there have been 24 hazing-related deaths. Novak highlighted the point that “this behavior has never been ok; it’s just been tolerated” and encouraged students to see hazing for what it really is: problematic and harmful behavior. Novak stated that initiation processes into fraternities, sororities, athletic teams, and other organizations need to change; hazing should not be used as an avenue for gaining acceptance or solidarity. Throughout her talk, Novak emphasized the importance of not being a bystander, even mentioning the Green Dot bystander intervention program that Gettysburg College has recently implemented. Even those who are not involved in Greek organizations or athletics can make a positive impact by promoting acceptance and respect. NHPW is the officially designated time for campuses, schools, communities, organizations and individuals to raise awareness about this issue.
Students Hypocrisy found Crack of “Pro-Life” the Code club, right, pg. 8 pg. 9