ThePRAIRIE
September 24, 2014
Vol. 97 Iss. 5
Woman Behind The Wheel
Read about the only woman shuttle bus driver on page 10
Read more about
Design by: Victoria Stone
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Sororities participate in social media blackout
Laundry maintenance becomes problematic
Buff Can food pantry open for student use
Sons of Anarchy wraps up final season
Trigger warnings allow for self-censorship
2 NEWS NEWS
Buff News Briefs
Old Main Society gives pinnacle award
Staff EDITOR Megan Moore ASSOCIATE EDITORS Alyssa Bonner Preston Thomas ADVISER Dr. Butler Cain AD MANAGER Alyssa Bonner LAYOUT DESIGNERS Cheyenne Black Victoria Stone
Photographers Thomas Koenig Natalia Molina
The Prairie is a student-operated newspaper at West Texas A&M University. It functions to inform, educate and entertain readers accurately and responsibly. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of the administration, faculty or staff. The Prairie verifies the legitimacy of the advertising appearing in The Prairie, but cannot be held liable for any advertising claim made in this publication. The Prairie has a circulation of 1,500 and is printed by the Amarillo Globe-News.
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he Old Main Society is a group of contributors that recognize individual organizations and corporations that have supported students and the missions here at West Texas A&M University. They have an annual ceremony, key note speaker and Pinnacle Award presentation to honor the many people who make monetary donations. This year, the Old Main Society honored Dyke and Terry Rogers, the benefactors for this year’s ceremony. They were also rewarded with the Pinnacle Award for 2014. The keynote speaker was Jim Schwertner, a member of the Texas A&M University System Board of Regents. More than $5 million has been donated to the university through members of the group, all of which goes toward student scholarships.
Nursing students offer free health screenings
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he nursing students at WTAMU have partnered with United Supermarkets and Amigos to offer free health screenings throughout the month of September. Each screening included measurement of height and weight, blood pressure, blood sugar and body mass index. The screenings were provided by senior level nursing students. The students performed the screenings at the United Supermarket at 1501 E. Amarillo Blvd. and Amigos, which is located at 3300 E. Interstate 40 from Sept. 16-23 from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m.
Education on Demand offers health care class
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ducation on Demand is a program at West Texas A&M University that offers self-paced courses for any students interested. On Oct. 7-28, there will be a course known as Integrative Health Care: Exploring What We Know About Mind-Body-Spirit Connections. The course will be taught by nursing professors Dr. Heidi Taylor and Dr. Lisa Davis. Taylor and Davis are board certified nurse coaches. The course will teach students how to focus more on health than on a diagnosis and how connecting with the mind, body, and spirit can benefit their health. The class will cost $50 and the deadline is on Oct. 3 at 5 p.m.
Maria Garzón presents music, film and poetry
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he School of music had a guest artist on Sunday Sept. 21 to present music, film and poetry. This year, they welcomed Maria Garzón. Garzón is from Spain and has traveled around the world and participated in many music festivals. Some of the festivals she has taken part in include festivals in Salzburg and the Canary Islands. She is a former Head of Piano Studies at Reading University and has contributed in various schools teaching music. This year, Garzón performed music by Soler, Albeniz, De Falla, and more. She also shared footage from her movie Viktor Ullmann: Biography of a Recording, and she did a reading from The Strange Passenger.
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September 24, 2014
It’s A Buffs Life
September 24, 2014
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3 NEWS NEWS
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Sororities implement new by-law for social media Megan Moore Editor
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John Blundell/ The Prairie Sorority members pose at the Greek Glow recruitment party.
ororities on the campus of West Texas A&M University approached Greek Recruitment week in a new way this semester. They participated in a social media black out. “Every year they have some challenges, some tensions,” Matt Maples, Associate Director of Student Activities, said. “If we have a disagreement or a recruitment violation from a chapter its often going to have something to do with social media.” Chi Omega had the women
of their chapter deactivate social media in previous years, and had given good feedback on their experiences with the blackout and put the idea to vote. All four sororities, Alpha Sigma Alpha, Delta Zeta, Zeta Tau Alpha and Chi Omega, voted the social media blackout into the by-laws which requires all active members to deactivate social media accounts including Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat and Pinterest. “You have to deactivate all of your accounts and then delete all of the apps from your phone,” Cecilia Borunda, junior AD/PR and electronic media
major and Chi Omega member, said. “They checked your phone to see if it’s deleted. We had to delete everything. It wasn’t a big change for Chi Omega. We’ve always had to do it.” Once recruitment has started, active members of sororities are not allowed to communicate with women going through recruitment outside of recruitment parties. This is a national rule for the women to follow but the social media rule put in place for this recruitment year is a local rule. “Us not having social media was a really good thing because, for me personally not having social media, I was more focused on recruitment and more focused on hanging out with my sisters,” Maddie Little, sophomore Marketing major and Delta Zeta member, said. “It’s sad but social media is a big factor in a lot of different aspects of your life and it was great to not have that for a week. I didn’t almost redownload it.” Women that had to do things related to social media for work or school purposes were put on a list and instructed to make profile and header photos neutral photos or Go Greek photos. They wouldn’t be allowed to post things for or about the sorority, and their accounts were monitored by rho gammas. The social media blackout was voted in as a by-law and bylaws go into review every year. “It’ll stay in place until they vote to change it,” Maples said. “They can vote to eliminate it for next year if they want. They can vote to modify it, but its really whatever the four chapters want to do.”
4 NEWS NEWS
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September 24, 2014
Laundry maintenance issues arise in dormitories John Blundell Reporter
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s students go about their college lives, they end up doing laundry. However, recently a number of oncampus residents have found this regular, mundane task far more difficult than usual, as extended use of machines has led to an extensive number of equipment issues. “It’s a lot harder to get your laundry done when you just have a few open washers for like 200 guys,” Nathan Melzer, freshman Biology major and Jarrett Hall resident, said. “I have not changed my sheets once since I got here. That’s how bad the crowding in the washroom is.” With a fall enrollment of 8,388 students and almost 2,000 living on campus, the laundry facilities at each residence hall are under constant use. Due to the overworking of the machines, the university is seeing a large number of malfunctions throughout the campus, resulting in approximately six laundry-related work orders per week, or just over 300 per year, according to the Residential Living Office. After a work order is placed, a response scheduling a technician’s appointment is expected within two days or the company is called again. “Our technicians will do their best to fix a machine, and will only really replace them if they require a major part or are rendered completely inoperable,” Becky Kanz, Mac-Gray/ ASI Regional Account Manager, said. Mac-Gray/ASI is the com-
pany that owns, maintains and replaces the washing machines and dryers throughout campus. Students can take note of the fact, however, that while maintenance is in their housing contracts and costs the university no additional money, the swapping out of machines is not included and would lead to a rise in the laundry cost added to the current residential living fees. “We don’t ever say [the laundry services] are free, we say that they are at no additional cost,” Cindy Spencer, Senior Director of Residential Living and temporary Cross Hall Resident,
said. Despite many misconceptions, laundry services at West Texas A&M University are not actually free of charge. Instead, the cost, which is calculated by the average number of loads of laundry per on-campus student, is added to the cost of each student’s dormitory fees. According to Spencer, this works out to approximately an additional $27 dollars per student, and it is delegated in the budget as first going towards any issues with laundry equipment before being used on any other budget item.
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John Blundell/The Prairie Freshman Mechanical Engineering major Marcus Preuninger waits for his laundry to finish.
September 24, 2014
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5 NEWS NEWS
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Can food pantry lends helping hand to students
Erin Webster Reporter
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t West Texas A&M University, there are programs and groups dedicated to helping students. A program with this objective in mind is the Buffs Can food pantry. Established by the combined efforts of both CORE and WT’s Student Government, Buffs Can first opened its doors in March of this year. Nonperishable vegetables, fruit, protein, starches and packaged snacks are avail-
able to any student in need. Buffs Can also has diapers, baby food and basic toiletries, according to Amanda Kraemer, a graduate assistant in the CORE office. “Anyone can donate to the food pantry. Students, faculty, community members,” Kraemer said. “However, as of right now, [Buffs Can] cannot accept perishable or refrigerated items as donations.” As it has grown, donations from several organizations have assisted in the improvement of the food pantry. The High Plains
Food Bank, based in Amarillo, is a group whose task is akin to Buffs Can. Their goal is “to alleviate hunger on the high plains,” Broc Carter said, keeping the entire community and surrounding area in mind. Carter is the organization’s Director of Communications. When Buffs Can first began its operation, its conjunction with the High Plains Food Bank established a specific relationship between the two organizations. “We function with WT as a
RHA hosts outdoor cookout
partnering agency, which means we provide food that Buffs Can manages and delegates to students,” Carter said. The connection of the High Plains Food Bank to Buffs Can has provided assistance not only with stocking food items, but with building community ties. Many WT students are unaware of Buffs Can. While the most important objective of the program is to provide for students with a necessity for extra food, students must know about Buffs Can in order to be affected by it in any way.
According to Gabriel Silvas, sophomore Theatre Performance major, promotion of awareness of the opportunity for assistance would be very effective. “A lot of people would be willing to donate to the food pantry,” Silvas said. Ultimately, Silvas said, “campus-wide awareness of Buffs Can leads to a sense of community-mindedness and security for students in need. Buffs Can is located in the CORE office inside the Jack B. Kelley student center.
Power Vinyasa Yoga with associate professor Edward Truitt
Join this all-levels class to build strength, flexibility and balance. Free for students. Faculty and staff must pay the $45 class fee at the Virgil Henson Activity Center. Wednesday nights, 6-7 p.m. VHAC room 212 Yoga mats available Please arrive 5-10 minutes early Natalia Molina/ The Prairie A group of stundents gather for converstaion after fixing plates of food.
Natalia Molina/ The Prairie Students prepare their meals at the cookout.
Natalia Molina/ The Prairie Sean Lee poses with his dog after finishing his meal.
Contact Professor Truitt with questions at etruitt@wtamu.edu Top athletes such as Shaquille O’Neal, LeBron James, Ray Lewis and many more are adding power yoga to their workouts as a cross-training platform.
6 SPORTS SPORTS
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October 1, 2014
WT mens soccer wins again Timm Lerna Reporter
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espite possessing a young team, the West Texas A&M men’s soccer teams have been able to rebound after having a three game winning streak snapped by St. Edwards on Sept. 20. As of Sept. 30, the Buffs soccer team have gotten back on the right track, following a 2-1 victory over Oklahoma Christian on Sept. 25 and a 2-0 win over Newman on Sept. 27. Assistant coach and first year man, James Crowder stated that he and head coach Butch Lauffer have great expectations
for the team despite having such a young roster. Key injuries have been a factor for the team the last two games, however, but that hasn’t stopped the team from playing hard. “I’m learning a lot from Coach Lauffer, it’s a lot of responsibility,” James Crowder, the assistant men’s soccer coach, said. “It’s been good adjusting to Canyon, I’m from Austin so the city is a little different, but the people here are very welcoming, especially at WT.” “They’re young players who haven’t really played with one another and don’t know what they are getting themselves into,” Matt Welsch, the student-
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assistant men’s soccer coach, said. “But they are quickly adjusting to one another and I think we hit a home run with our freshman class, they bring a lot of youth and talent to the team.” The Buffs are led by senior midfielder and Brazilian native Vitor Cardoso, sophomore forward Chris Johnson and senior midfielder and Birmingham, England native Christopher Hutton. Cardoso, thus far into the 2014 campaign, has accumulated four goals and three assists, including an assist in the 37th minute and a goal in the 39th minute against the Newman Jets. Johnson isn’t too far behind Cardoso in the leaderboard, scoring three goals and no assists. Hutton has been credited with two goals and three assists, including an assist against the Eagles of Oklahoma Christian. Heading into Homecoming Weekend, the Buffs currently sit at 6-2. The men will return to The Pitch, hosting an always tough Fort Hays State squad on Oct. 2 at 3 p.m. before finishing out their six game home stretch against Eastern New Mexico on Oct. 8 at 7 p.m.
“It’s been good adjusting to Canyon, the people here are very welcoming, especially at WT.” -James Crowder
October 8, 2014
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7 SPORTS SPORTS
Lady Buffs Cross Country focuses on teamwork Megan Moore Editor
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ith a team of 10 members, the women’s cross-country team defies the normal stigma associated with long distance running. Most think of this sport as an individual race, but for the Lady Buffs it’s all about teamwork. “The team and I are together at least 20 hours a week,” Michaela Johnson, senior Health Sciences major, said. “You have to like your team in order to enjoy your life. We basically just become sisters in that we are always hanging out. We are always doing something together whether it be working out, running, homework, studying, eating, just anything.” This past Saturday the women raced in the 26th Annual Chile Pepper Cross Country Festival in Fayetteville, Ark. Each of the top five runners recorded a new personal record for the 5K race and finished fourth in the nonDivision 1 field and 15th overall. They ran with more than 370 other competitors. “Chile Pepper is my favorite race because there are so many people,” Emma Love, senior Sports and Exercise Science major, said. “Because it’s such a fast course people just kind of carry you through it. It makes the course go by really fast. You’ll just be running along and then you turn the corner and see you’re about to get a PR.” For this race, the team wore white jerseys with a pink WT logo in honor of breast cancer awareness. They also wear black
pink eye-blacks with the names of breast cancer survivors or those currently going through breast cancer under their eyes. “We want to represent the fight against breast cancer,” Love said. “We actually have a sponsor who recently overcame breast cancer. We support their fight and have a different motivation during that race, running for another person.” Many of the girls contribute their success to Coach Kimberly Dudley. As a head coach, Dudley runs with the women of the team and stresses the importance of goals.
“I work really hard at teaching them to run with confidence and to understand what that means,” Dudley said. “Just grow them in that confidence level so that when they can get on the line they can perform at a level that they are capable of.” The cross-country women also run track and field as well. The scholarships for crosscountry are combined with track. “They are umbrella through NCAA together,” Dudley said. “So when you are recruiting you have to look for both sports, what athletes will benefit both
“I work really hard at teaching them to run with confidence and to understand what that means” -Coach Kimberly Dudley
Photo courtesy of Coach Dudley WT Cross Country team wears pink and white shirt to support Breast cancer month.
the cross-country team and the distance crew for track.” The women start their days as early as 6:20 a.m. to get in the workouts they need for their set mileage, and focus on a high protein, high vegetable diet. “Having to try and eat healthy is difficult because those sweet teeth come in every night but it’s not as hard because now I have a team and we keep each other accountable,” Johnson said. “We’ll go eat a salad or fruit instead, so we have fun eating healthy.” The Lady Buffs will compete this Friday, October 10 at 6 p.m. in the WagonWheel [6K] dual.
Top 5 Runners Michaela Johnson, Sr. 17.22.90 Emma Love, Sr. 17.53.10 Brittney Mitchell, Fr. 18.01.20 Lauren Laisure, Fr. 18.35.80 Rhemecka Grahm, Sr. 19:46.40
8 ARTS LEISURE ARTS& & LEISURE
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September 24, 2014
Sons of Anarchy says farewell to seven year series Cheyenne Black Reporter
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ept. 9 marked the beginning of the final season of the well-known biker show, Sons of Anarchy. The show started off as a hard-core biker club that was devoted to the family business of selling guns. Through six seasons of family and club feuds, death and betrayal, Jackson ‘Jax’ Teller (Charlie Hunnam) manages to find solace in the one thing that keeps his sanity on track: the love of his life, Tara Knowles (Maggie Siff). With a connection to Tara that pulls him back to reality, Jax never wanted “the weight of the gavel”, for fear he would turn into his “weak,” dead father, or worse, the self-serving stepfather, Clay Morrow (Ron Pearlman). At the end of season six, Jax was sitting at the “head of the table.” Since coming back to charming, Tara did her best at trying to get Jax out of the club and Charming, but Gemma Morrow, (Katy Sagel) Jax’s mother, somehow always intervenes and finds a way to make him stay. “It’s never normal, every time you think it’s going bad it always comes out good in the end,” Sarah Sabins, graduate student “It starts out like Hamlet, but never ends like it,” said. “I love the crazy suspense, and Kurt Sutter is just really good about captivating the audience,” Hannah Roy, Pre-Vet major, said.“Keeping you guessing what’s going to happen next, and then out of nowhere something way unexpected happens, and he makes you feel for the
characters.” Kurt Sutter, creator and character Otto, a loyal and imprisoned solider to the club who turned on the club by biting out his tongue and pinning the murder of a nurse on Tara. Throughout the series of SOA, there have been hints and speculation of whether or not the main storyline and characters are based off of Hamlet. For instances, Hamlet’s Ophelia, daughter to Polonius, lives with her father and is in love with Hamlet. While it is not a romantic relationship, the parallels with Opie Winston (Ryan Hurst) are obvious. Even his
name evokes Ophelia. Also, after the death of Polonius, Ophelia goes mad and kills herself. Likewise, after the death of Piney, father to Opie, loses his way and ultimately sacrifices his own life, essentially killing himself out of loyalty to Jax. “There’s always scenes where you’re like, ‘Hey no go back! Tell me more!’ But the way Kurt Sutter writes it is perfect,” Roy said. It is debatable for which character each modern day actor plays in Hamlet, but a definite link between the two are Hamlet’s Claudius (Pearlman) and Gertrude (Segal). Claudius, King of Denmark, and Hamlet’s
uncle killed Hamlet’s father and took his crown, much like Clay killed John Teller and took his position. Hamlet/Jax sought revenge upon Claudius/Clay, while Claudius/Clay sought to assassinate Hamlet/Jax to protect power. Both failed. “There’s only so far he can take their development. Some main characters have become irredeemable, which must make writing extremely difficult,” Yodit Yoseph, a ju said. In the original Shakespeare play, Gertrude (Segal), Queen of Denmark and mother to Hamlet, was not part of the plot to kill Hamlet’s father, although Sutter
has combined those elements. Here, Gemma was part of the plot to kill John Teller, but she backed away from it, pinning it entirely upon Clay, although Jax — like Hamlet — is suspicious of his mother. Similarly, at the beginning of the play, Gertrude lies more with her husband than her son, as Gemma sided more with Clay in the early seasons. Gertrude is killed in the end by poison meant for Jax, which means she’ll probably be an accidental victim of crossfire. “There are not a lot of shows about hardcore bikers and love of family in one show,”Sabins said.
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Arts Leisure 9 Arts& & Leisure TRIVIA TEST BY Fifi Rodriguez 1. LANGUAGE: What is the most commonly used letter in the alphabet? 2. GEOGRAPHY: In what body of water can the island of Santorini be found? 3. ACRONYMS: To an engineer, what does the acronym CAD stand for? 4. GENERAL KNOWLEDGE: What is a shillelagh? 5. POLITICS: What was the emblem of the Progressive Party of 1912? 6. ANATOMY: What is the glabella? 7. ACADEMIA: What does a vexillologist study? 8. MOVIES: What was the title of the movie that featured the line, “Love means never having to say you’re sorry?” 9. TELEVISION: What was the name of the town that was the setting for “Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman”? 10. GAMES: How many playing pieces do you have to remove from a body in the game “Operation”?
Answers
10. Twelve
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6. The skin between the eyebrows and above the nose 7. Flags 8. “Love Story” (1970) 9. Fernwood, Ohio
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1. E 2. Aegean Sea 3. Computer-aided design 4. A cudgel that can be used as walking stick or a weapon 5. Bull Moose
October 1, 2014
10 FEATURE FEATURE
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September 24, 2014
The woman behind the wheel of WT’s shuttle bus
Daniela Fierro Reporter
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t’s almost like we take them for granted. They pick us up at the First United Bank Center and drop us off at a location closest to our class after we say “Thank you.” There are four shuttle busses and eight drivers, plus two relief workers. Elaine Brown, one of West Texas A&M University’s shuttle bus drivers, is the only female driver amongst them. “It’s a man’s world, but I don’t care. All the guys are nice to me, so it’s nice,” Brown said. Brown was struck by a drunk driver while riding a bicycle two decades ago, loosing her leg on the scene of the accident. “I’m an amputee, and there are some things that I cannot do,” Brown said. “Drive, I can do.” When she found out about the position, she came to see if she could get in and out of the shuttle and check if they were automatic transmissions. “When I knew I could physically do everything, I went and got the commercial license,” she said. Brown, as an amputee, had to obtain a limb waiver which was another process for her to go through in getting her commericial license. “[WT] is the only place I intend to drive,” Brown said. “I love it.” Prior to being a shuttle driver and before her accident, Brown was a physical education teacher. After the accident she became a special education teacher. “I taught school and you had
“It’s a man’s world, but I don’t care.” -Elaine Brown some students who loved you and others who didn’t want to be there,” Brown said. Brown said she dealt with many personalities during her time as a teacher, but everyone she has met driving the shuttle is as nice as they can be. “[Students and workers] say, ‘Thank you,’ and, ‘See you again, you’re appreciated,’” Brown said. Since she works driving the shuttles, she sees people move around and go places. “We do the same route everyday but every time you go around, it has a different look about it,” Brown said. She said she likes the people she works with, and she finds them nice and in tune with taking care of the shuttle drivers. “I think that’s important,” Brown said. “But I love carrying the people who work at the university, the staff, professors, the students, athletes. We move people everywhere.” One of her biggest challenges driving the shuttle is when it comes to bad weather. “I cannot deal with ice and snow,” Brown said. “I cannot physically deal with it now because of my left leg.” Even though she can walk well, and has a good prosthesis, if there were to be high winds or something similar, she could have problems. “I’ve only called in once in
three years because of the ice,” she said. Brown said if there was one thing she could change, she wouldn’t want it to snow on days that she worked. “But I can’t think of a thing I would change about my job,” Brown said. “I’ve got the schedule I like, I’m in the afternoons so I get to swim a mile every morning, and do what I need to get done in the mornings.” University Police Department Lt. Patrick Coggins is the Director of Support Services at WT, and one of the requirements to be a shuttle bus driver is to have a Class “B” Commercial Driver’s license.
“They also need a passenger endorsement, suitable employment history and a favorable background check,” Lt. Coggins said. The university made a major investment last spring by purchasing four new shuttle busses. “[They have] not required much maintenance thus far,” Lt. Coggins said. “Regularly scheduled maintenance is recommended by the manufacturer.” According to Coggins, the shuttles transport approximately 1,200 people on average each day. “On Friday, the demand for transportation is generally less, so numbers drop off on Fridays,”
Daniela Fierro/ The Prairie Elaine Brown drives the shuttle bus for the afternoon shift at WTAMU.
Coggins said. Executive Assistant and office manager at UPD, Carla Banks said when looking for drivers, it’s important that each candidate be courteous, friendly, observant and a very good driver. “I use the shuttle bus every day, four days a week,” Jason Madison, senior Computer Information Systems (CIS) major, said. “They never crash, and that’s what I want.” The shuttle bus drivers at WT are David Scott, David Sims, Mike Royal (Coach), Stanley Gardner, Don Switzer, Elaine Brown, Robert Mayhan, Mark Jolly, Joe Ortega and Johnie Price.
September 24, 2014
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11 Opinion Opinion
Trigger warnings make appearance in academia
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magine a world where everything came with warning labels similar to those on cigarette cartons. Imagine what life would be like if, everywhere you went, there were warnings letting you know when you could see something you may not want to. Perhaps it is a nude photo. Perhaps it is a war scene. Perhaps it is something that “triggers” a feeling of distress or trauma. According to the article “Warning: The Literary Canon Should Make Students Squirm,” from the New York Times, the campuses of some universities across the nation have been addressed with concerns from students of some of the content they are covering in classes. Students are requesting what are known as “trigger warnings,” which the New York Times defines as “explicit alerts that the material [students] are about to read or see in a classroom might
upset them or, as some students assert, cause symptoms of posttraumatic stress disorder in victims of rape or in war veterans.” Trigger warnings have long been used on the internet, first appearing on feminist websites. The idea was to protect assault victims from material that may trigger PTSD. They have since become more widespread, landing on a variety of websites and material readers may find distressing, and now trigger warnings are landing in classrooms. Trigger warnings have been a prominent topic at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where the student government formally passed a resolution calling for them. Professors would have to include mandatory trigger warnings on their course syllabi that indicate days of lectures that would include readings, films or discussions that may trigger feelings of physical or emotional distress.
The resolution passed by UC Santa Barbara’s student government calls for warnings if course content will involve “depictions and discussions of rape, sexual assault, suicide, pornography or graphic violence, among other things,” according to an editorial in the Los Angeles Times. Professors would be required to excuse students from class with no penalty if the students felt the material would cause them to become distressed. It is unclear how assignments would be complete or tests would be scored in regards to the “triggering” course content. The resolution is simply advisory, meaning it is a recommendation from the student government that campus authorities can either reject or turn into policy. Campus authorities would be wise to choose the former. As clearly stated in the editorial from the LA Times, “[They]
should explain firmly to students why such a policy would be antithetical to all that college is supposed to provide: a rich and diverse body of study that often requires students to confront difficult or uncomfortable material, and encourages them to discuss such topics openly.” It is one thing for professors to give students a heads up that they will be covering content that could be distressing, but it turns into something completely different when professors must excuse students for the day. That brings it to the point where it changes from sensitivity to censorship. Allowing students to miss class without consequences allows students to self-censor themselves from things that are real. As noted in the LA Times editorial, psychologists have pointed out that a post-traumatic response is just as likely to be triggered by an incident
completely unrelated to the subject matter, such as catching a glimpse of the same color of clothing that was visible during the traumatic event or a certain scent that was in the air that day. Trigger warnings contribute to a college culture that is too overprotective and hypersensitive in an effort to ensure not to offend any students and make sure that no student is made to feel uncomfortable. College classrooms should not have to be “politically correct” because life isn’t. Life doesn’t care who sees something emotional or something graphic or something distressing. Life is real. These things happen, and real people, like college students, witness them. Colleges, universities and professors should not and cannot wrap students in bubble wrap, nor give students the power to do it themselves.
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances. - First Amendment, U.S. Constitution @The_Prairie
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12 PHOTOS PHOTOS
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September 24, 2014
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