Free Topic

I'm quite proud of my column that was in The George-Anne Thursday, so I'm putting it here as well. I received compliments. :)

And, to show that I'm doing this in the spirit of class, I'll add hyperlinks to it.

Freedom of speech should always trump controversy:

On Tuesday, Federal District Court Judge William Downes ruled that it was a First Amendment violation for the University of Wyoming to forbid Bill Ayers, co-founder of Weather Underground, a 1960s radical anti-war group, and current university professor, from speaking on campus.

The judge, who served as a Marine in Vietnam, issued his verdict – despite his contempt for Weather Underground – saying, “Mr. Ayers is a citizen of the United States who wishes to speak, and he need not offer any more justification than that.” He said that a free society must guarantee free speech rights, according to The Huffington Post.

Downes said the reasons the university provided were too vague to deny Ayers the right to speak – the university cited safety concerns as the reason.

Hm, that kind of sounds familiar.

Last March, Ayers was supposed to come speak at Georgia Southern, yet according to an article in the March 3, 2009 edition of The George-Anne, “[t]he event was cancelled last month following concerns from the university that included the security and expense that Ayers’ visit would have entailed.”

But Ayers came to GSU in November, at which time he said, “To say that the only reason I wasn’t invited was because of a safety concern is nonsense. I’m not afraid. I live openly at my house in Chicago.”

So, Ayers did not feel $13,000 in security was necessary, and the cancellation came after complaints from some of the GSU community and some of the Statesboro community. It becomes logical to assume, then, that despite said justification, it is more likely that the controversy created was more of an issue than anything else, and cancelling his visit was the response to succumbing to pressure.

That is a blatant violation of not only Ayers’ rights, but also a violation of the students’ rights who were deprived of an opportunity to hear him speak. A university should, more than almost any other institution, be a place where the free exchange of ideas, controversial or not, is encouraged.

If you don’t support/like Bill Ayers, fine. Don’t attend his presentation. Even protest it if you want, but respect the rights of others who want to hear him, and respect his right to speak. The First Amendment cannot be applied only when it’s convenient; it has to be applied across the board. This court case, one of many, has proven that just because the man is controversial does not mean that First Amendment rights both to freedom of speech and freedom of assembly can be violated.

If people are forbidden from speaking their mind or prevented from hearing opinions from all different sides, then there’s no way to grow. Just because you don’t agree with something doesn’t mean it can’t be said.

Therefore, I am of the opinion that Bill Ayers be invited back to GSU to speak in a venue that is not kept secret from the majority of the school. It is so important that students hear from many different kinds of people, so there’s no reason for the university to deny Ayers the opportunity.

And if there’s controversy again, at least there’s precedent favoring the First Amendment, what is supposed to be one of the core values of our nation.

Support can be shown by writing on the wall of the Facebook group “Sit-In for Academic Freedom at Georgia Southern University.”

Oh, and on a side note, his speech took place at the University of Wyoming without incident.

The Ethics of Breaking the Law

Law is in place to keep society from dissolving. In order to maintain a functioning society, individuals give up some of their free will, knowing that in return the governing are supposed to act fairly and justly.

But, as we all know, the latter half of the bargain is not always upheld to the approval of some. We wouldn't be a country if America's founding fathers sat back and accepted laws as Britain proclaimed them.

Therefore, of course there are situations in which it is ethical -- that is, morally correct -- to break the law. Nothing exists purely in black and white. That being said, it is not something that can happen all the time; the law has to be respected most of the time or society will slip into anarchy.

I would also like to clarify that law-breaking for change does not always have to be violent. I am not a supporter of violence under any circumstances because if everybody would just stop fighting to the death, I believe progress would find more success. It's not right, under any circumstances, to kill a person, for example, no matter what point the murderer is trying to get across. It violates the victim's right to live. There have been numerous court cases in which the Supreme Court declared a law unconstitutional, especially when it comes to free speech, and the only way to have that happen was to break said law, so it is possible.

Buddhist monks protest peacefully. So can you.

That being said, I admit that's not how it is for most of us. Realistically, it seems that today, violence is the only way to get attention. It's certainly the case with the media, where the quip is "If it bleeds, it leads." PBS discusses the ethical issues behind such a philosophy. So that people break the law violently for attention is understandable, but it's still not ethical. To elaborate strays off this specific topic, though, and into general media ethics.

The issue we discussed in class regarding the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society is bordering on an unethical practice. Yes, they are acting for a good cause, if the number of incidental kills decreases. However, the fact that they haven't killed anyone yet with their chosen means of law-breaking (ramming their boat into fishermen's) is pure luck. It doesn't matter if their cause is to save fish and not humans, frankly. The lives of the fishermen are not suddenly expendable because of their practices, and this is coming from a vegetarian who does not believe it's right to kill animals for mass production. On the flip side, though, if people haven't been taking the SSCS to court because they know their actions are unethical, then they need to take responsibility and rectify those actions.

Ethics is undoubtedly a murky subject to delve into, seeing as there are so many different, personal interpretations of what is right and what is wrong. Really, all that I can say is for the most part, laws need to be respected; however, that does not mean things should be taken without question.

Twilight and Philosophy

Twilight and Philosophy: Vampires, Vegetarians, and the Pursuit of Immortality

Yes, this is a book. I included a picture. And a link to read it from Google books.

But before all of the "Ewww, Twilight!!" commences,  I would just like to say, "Stop; grow up; I don't want to hear it." Critique the series all you want; it is very angsty and dramatic, I know.

However, this book is not so much about the series as it is a philosophical look at the way vampires are portrayed in Stephanie Meyer's books, the roles religion and feminism play, and what it means to really be compassionate.

So far, at least. I haven't finished the book yet.

The way it's laid out, though, each part focuses on one book of the series and the philosophical issues that arise. For example, part one focuses on Twilight.

The issues discussed are:

• You Look Good Enough to Eat: Love, Madness, and the Food Analogy. This discusses the role food plays in pleasurable emotion, and how that relates to the fact that Edward, in essence, wants to express his desires by literally consuming Bella.
• Dying to Eat: The Vegetarian Ethics of Twilight: Is it ethical for a vampire to spare humans but still eat and kill animals? What makes it different? What are the different standards for humans and vampires regarding diet, and does it make one better than the other?
• Can a Vampire Be a Person?: Pretty self-explanatory; there is a differentiation between being human and a person, so it examines which, if any, a Twilight vampire is capable of being.
• Carlisle: More Compassionate Than a Speeding Bullet?: If you've read any the books or seen any of the movies, then you're aware that Carlisle is the one who promotes the "vegetarian" way of life among vampires, and is very caring towards those close to him. So this section looks at different definitions of compassion, and what it is that makes Carlisle's compassion a heightened capability.

All of these are written by different contributors, and they all draw comparisons to legitimate philosophers (Aristotle, Nietzsche, etc.) and philosophical concepts -- they have very informative footnotes -- so it is something worth reading if the reader wants to see how old thoughts are still relevant to pop culture today.

For those who are not interested in Twilight, there are others in the series that may be of interest: 

• X-Men and Philosophy: Astonishing Insight and Uncanny Argument in the Mutant X-Verse
• Family Guy and Philosophy: A Cure for the Petarded
• House and Philosophy: Everybody Lies

As well as ones for Watchmen, Batman, The Office, and more.

Why NOT?

The better question to ask when thinking about why to hire me is why would you not? I am a student who is already a junior in only my fourth semester of college. I am in the Honors Program with a 3.9 GPA, whose degree path includes a B.S. in journalism with political science and German minors. I am set to be the editor-in-chief of GSU's newspaper beginning this summer, a newspaper that is available to approximately 20,000 people.

I am committed to everything that I do and give it my all so that I may proud of it when I finish. I have a strong sense of internal motivation and do things because they should be done, not because I have to or because I'm told to. I'm friendly and sweet, so I get along with many different people, but at the same time, I will not let people walk all over me. I would do anything for those that I care about; I have a firm notion justice that I am constantly working to uphold. I have strong opinions that I love to voice, but I will listen to everyone else's too because I love to learn, and I am especially drawn to learning about people and how the individual operates.

That innate sense of curiosity combined with my desire for change and ability to apply what I learn is what is going to enable me to make a mark on the world. I express myself clearly and concisely -- I am a journalist after all. I know how to communicate effectively with various groups of people, whether they be professionals, peers, students or even children. While artists narrate with pictures, I illustrate with words. I want to call attention to issues that need it and present options to make life better for people everywhere.

I have the drive and ability to make a difference, just give me the chance to let me show you what I can do.

Favorite Superhero: Rogue

From a young age, I never really had a favorite superhero. I've been pretty feminist all my life, it seems, because it always made me so mad that Wonder Woman was really the only well known female superhero, and she wasn't anything worth looking up to. (Example A, above.) It's not very difficult to figure out why it is that she has such strong muscles around her mouth; it's obviously targeted towards male readers. But what kind of girl wants to look up to a woman like that? (Don't answer that, please, because I'd rather not know.)

Practically every female hero is objectified in the comic world, if not through personality, then through dress. And I really don't want to find a favorite superhero in a man who treats women in a misogynistic, outdated manner. (Example B, left.) Sure, the age of superheroes and villains may have reached its height before women started to assert themselves, but I fail to understand why there have not been any strong female role models created since. Even Sailor Moon characters are dressed in a way that appeals to men, despite the fact that many little girls had a favorite as well.

But I did find one female superhero for whom I have definitely developed an affinity: Rogue, of Marvel's X-Men. I adore her. I started watching X-Men: Evolution in middle school, and she was my favorite on that show, and from there I was very into the movies when they came out. Rogue, whose real name is Anna Marie, had such a strong personality and was kind of the outcast of the group, and I especially liked her style (i.e. her hair). Her power is also the best, in my opinion, because she can absorb any power by skin-to-skin contact or kill people if she continues and drains their life force -- ultimate power.

That's probably why she was originally recruited by the "bad guys" before becoming an X-Man. All her life, she's been conflicted because she doesn't want to hurt anyone with her powers and they prevent her from becoming close to anyone. She put the one boy she was ever close to in a permanent coma after impulsively kissing him. Mystique was able to transform the loneliness Rogue felt into anger and then convince her to join the Brotherhood of Mutants. But eventually, all of the memories and powers Rogue had absorbed became too much for her, and she had to seek help from the X-Men so that she could learn to control her powers, thereby becoming "good."

I think it's her tortured soul that I'm drawn to, and that's what makes her my favorite. That, and the fact that she can, in effect, do anything... that doesn't involve contact in affection. 

Seigniorage

I chose this topic because I couldn't pronounce the word, and so I was quite intrigued. So first off, for anyone else who may be curious, it is pronounced "sane-yur-ij".

Basically, it is the difference in what it costs to make a coin and what that coin is worth, face value.  If it costs 5 cents to make a quarter, then the seigniorage is 20 cents. When the money is worth more than it costs to produce, as it does in this example, the government profits. Of course, the government will lose money if the reverse occurs.

The way that it works with dollar bills is slightly different. Today, the Federal Reserve buys and sells treasury bonds from banks, and replaces those bonds with bills. But since there's interest to be collected from bonds, when the bills go out of circulation and the bonds are returned, the government will profit.

A great example of when the government profited from seigniorage is with the collector's series of state quarters. It only costs about 5 cents to make a quarter, so since people don't intend to spend these, the government profits when, for instance, they're purchased from TV for more than their face value of 25 cents.

The Roaring Twenties

The 1920s in America were a time of great prosperity that ultimately culminated in disaster for the entire nation. But in the early '20s, the U.S. was just coming out of WWI involvement, the success of which left Americans feeling quite proud, and the nation survived a worldwide flu epidemic. Needless to say, many people felt like nothing could bring them down.


Warren G. Harding was elected president in 1920, and he promoted a "return to normalcy": a resurgence of nativism, isolationism, and rejection of the progressive era's governmental activism. Despite that, after making the change from a wartime economy to a peacetime economy, America became the richest nation in the world and developed the consumer mentality with which we are familiar today. "People spent money for better roads, tourism, and holiday resorts. Real estate booms, most notably in Florida, sent land prices soaring." Also, Henry Ford introduced the Model T in this decade, and assembly line production developed in accordance with that.


Then, Black Tuesday: October 29, 1929. The stock market crashed, and the decade of excess and consumerism came to an abrupt halt.

This video sounds like it was made in the '20s, so it's a little scratchy.

"The Visit" Review

I went to go see The Visit on Friday night, and was not expecting it to be that great. If I want to see a play, I'm more into comedies or musicals... old-time drama just isn't my thing. Unfortunately, I have to say reality was pretty much equivalent with my expections. Nothing against the actors or the scenery construction or anything, the plot was just nothing interesting to me.

It started out in a town called Güllen, which I have to say no one pronounced correctly, given that it's a German town. Umlauts are there for a reason; I wish they'd be ommitted if they're just going to be ignored. But anyway, the town is very poor and the people are expecting the return of one of their former residents, Clara, who they hope will donate money to rejuvinate the town. She does in fact promise them $1 billion, but at a costly exchange. The reason Clara returned to the town was to rectify the injustice against her that forced her to leave in the first place, so the play becomes about whether the townspeople will accept monetary riches for what would typically be seen as a great moral transgression. In the end, Clara gets what she wants, as it seems like she's accustomed to, but I wish the play included how the townspeople lived with themselves. I applaud the message of the story, I just think it's time to modernize it -- like how La Bohème is the basis of Rent.

The acting wasn't bad; as far as I could tell, no one messed up his lines too badly. My biggest question and consequential pet peeve after watching this play is "How on earth does screaming 'Ahhhh!' and charging a man kill him?" Honestly, not well thought out, in my opinion. With all the other sound effects that were played throughout, a gun shot couldn't have been managed? He could've at least been charged by a crowd with knives, but I don't buy that he died of fright.

I would also like to point out that I found the amount of typos in the program to be abyssmal. The main character's name, Clara, was not even misspelled as "Claire." The program definitely said "Clarie." I am a firm proponent of the belief that a large amount of one's credibility is determined by grammatical correctness, especially when it comes to names. Overall, I don't think it was worth the $5 that I really needed for other things this week. I would not have minded had it been free, but I really did need that money.

Summer Vacation

I don't have much to anticipate this summer. I'm not graduating, I don't take summer courses, so for me, there isn't anything too difficult about my three-month break from school.

This summer, I am looking forward to two main things: moving into an apartment and going to Germany. Granted, the going to Germany part isn't certain yet, but I'm hopeful. I'm super excited about living in an apartment though, because it means getting the chance to redecorate my room. By no means am I anything close to having an eye for design, but it's fun for me nonetheless. It was always the high point of being a military child and moving often. Now, though, it includes things like getting my own silverware, and curtains, and minor furniture, and pots, and pans... I'm a nerd. Weird things make me happy. But I will spend a good couple weeks getting everything just right, because have I mentioned I have OCD tendencies as well? It's my main goal to keep everything neat and orderly over the summer; once school starts I just never have the time to maintain it.

The other high point of my summer will be going to Germany (if all goes well). My dad and I go every few years or so to visit his parents, and I love going because it's beautiful there and I get the opportunity to practice my German. I guess I kind of anticipate going this year for that reason... I've realized that my speaking skills are not up to par compared to my listening and reading abilities. We'll be staying in Bayern, which is one of my favorite areas because of the historic look.

Münich. How can you not think it's beautiful?

I want to be able to explore and walk around by myself this time though, since I'm actually old enough to be able to do so. This time, I will understand the importance of taking photographs while I'm there because I don't know when I'll have the next opportunity to go back. I will have loads of pictures, hopefully like this one. Then I will come back to my apartment and await another semester of school while working for the newspaper while I'm here.

Modern Europe: Fall of the Berlin Wall

The Berlin Wall was built during the Cold War as a literal barrier between communism and democracy. It started out as just a barbed wire fence when construction of the Berlin Wall began August 13, 1961 by the German Democratic Republic (East Germany). It was a "desperate" move to stop East Berliners from escaping from Soviet-controlled East Berlin to American-, French-, and British-occupied West Berlin. The wall was completed within a day, and it completely sealed off each side from the other.


The actual concrete wall was added in 1965, and it remained the barrier until 1975 when the ‘Stützwandelement UL 12.11’ was constructed, which is the version most people are familiar with.

"It was made from 45,000 separate sections of reinforced concrete, each 3.6 m high and 1.5 m wide, and topped with a smooth pipe, intended to make it more difficult for escapers to scale it. The Grenzmauer was reinforced by mesh fencing, signal fencing, anti-vehicle trenches, barbed wire, over 300 watchtowers, and thirty bunkers."

Escapes were common in the initial days of the wall, but after the concrete wall was constructed, the escapes had to get more creative, so people dug tunnels, among other things. East German guards were allowed to shoot those trying to escape, though. This is one of the more dire stories:

"August 17, 1962: In the early afternoon, two 18-year-old young men ran toward the Wall with the intention on scaling it. The first of the young men to reach the Wall successfully scaled it. The second one, Peter Fechter, was not so lucky. As he was about to scale the wall, a border guard opened fire. Peter continued to climb the Wall, but ran out of energy just as he reached the top. He then tumbled back onto the East German side of the Wall. To the shock of the world, Peter was just left there. The East German guards did not shoot him again nor did they go to his aid. Peter shouted in agony for nearly an hour. Once he had bled to death, East German guards carried off his body. He became the 50th person to die at the Berlin Wall and a symbol of the struggle for freedom."

The wall came down on November 9, 1989 when an East German official announced that permanent relocations were allowed. (People had been fleeing East Germany through Hungary all year.) At first, people were nervous, but once the process started, the wall came down nearly as suddenly as it went up.





ABC's Coverage of the Fall of the Berlin Wall.

My favorite.... piece of art?

Well, as I've had to do a review of a movie and a review of a CD, I figured I may as well go for the complete set, this time reviewing a book.

My absolute favorite book (if I can only pick one) is Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. It's been my favorite book for almost a decade now; I think the first time I read it was in fourth grade. I even own it in two languages. (Harry Potter und der Gefangene von Askaban is going to make my German better one day...)

Don't get me wrong, I'm a fan of the entire series, but this is the book that stands out. It's during this book that Harry comes to terms with how different he is, and that he's not a child anymore. He also realizes that he's got a family in Sirius, a family that he can love and that he wants to be a part of. That's the biggest reason this book is my favorite: It's the one time when it seems like Harry's life should get better. He stood up to his aunt and uncle, he has a teacher who is normal, despite being a werewolf, who teaches Harry how to ward off the dementors that aversely affect him more than anyone else -- he even was one of his father's best friends. For awhile, it just seems like things are going to work out. Quidditch goes well for most of the season, and he gets a gift from Fred and George that makes it much easier for him to "stay out" of trouble. Malfoy even gets his comeuppance from a hippogrif who won't take his insults.

But of course, he wouldn't be Harry Potter if he had a happy life. His broom gets crushed, his floating head is spotted off castle grounds, word gets out about Professor Lupin being a werewolf (wizards have prejudices, too) and the criminal who framed his godfather escapes. The boy is meant to suffer and struggle, but survive in the end. He's the literary posterchild for doing what's right even in the face of adversity. So thank you, J.K. Rowling for this incredible series.

Editorial Cartoons

I like this cartoon because it satirizes the way Bush went about his presidency. The opinion of this cartoonist is that he treated his position as more of a royal position where he could decree and justify what he pleased. This may not be the subtlist of cartoons, but I prefer the ones that are straightforward. I have to admit, though, that I don't understand exactly what is meant by "Nixon numbers," unless it's referring to low approval ratings, in which case, I hope the next section would be his bubble bursting.

This comment made me chuckle, though I can't tell exactly whether the cartoonist is saying what Obama's doing is a good thing or a bad thing. On one hand, it's good that he's taken on challenges, and Atlas did successfully carry the world on his back despite the difficulty, which is good news for Obama, but on the other hand, it's never good to bite off more than one can chew. Obviously Obama has a lot on his plate, but as the president, he can handle it.

This comic also deals with Obama's presidency, but I like this one because it shows how his intended course of action in the Middle East differs than that of his predecessor and others involved in the Muslim World. As I support peace and diplomacy over fighting, I hope Obama is able to accomplish something.

This one, words do not need to explain, as everything is clearly elaborated upon for the reader. That's why I chose it; I appreciated its snarky ways. Truly, words are not necessary.

In the ongoing battle between science and religion, I am often more inclined to go with science. Sure, there is no reason why there can't be a higher being, but I'm not going to deny something that can be proven, either. I like that this cartoon says that, obviously, when something isn't right, then of course the proper course of action is to challenge it. After all, why would you be wrong?

It goes without saying that the economy had to be included somehow, and what better way to do it than to tie it in with the current religious season? When everyone is giving something up voluntarily for Lent, let bills play a part in it too! That way you can seriously be out of luck for probably more than 40 days. I just liked that it showed, dryly, the way people are still dealing with having to manage with less.

Epitome of Disappointment.

Today, I woke up at 7:30 a.m. Anyone who knows me knows that I would typically never do such a thing on a day I don't have to be anywhere -- it's a struggle for me to wake up that early when I have to.

But I wanted to go Easter egg hunting, so I managed it. I was excited to walk around campus to find pastel-colored plastic eggs and stick them in my brightly colored Easter gift bag.

I found nothing.

There were no eggs left when the egg hunt started at 8 a.m. I walked around campus like a bright-eyed little girl, but as I continued to find only empty egg shells, I darkened. By the time I gave up, my self-esteem was devastated. I felt like the little kid who reached the piñata last at a birthday party and missed out on the candy.

And the reason for my soul-crushing experience? Cheating college kids who came out during the night and stole the eggs. I was so upset.

To make matters worse, as I was sitting in The George-Anne newsroom, I saw babies walking around campus. By babies, I mean 3-year-olds, but they are, they're babies. There were little girls walking around in Easter dresses and little boys in sweater vests with hope and excitement written all over there faces.

But they weren't going to find any. All because of college students who have no sense of honor.

This is not what the babies looked like.