{ title: 'Hill News. (Canton, N.Y.) 1911-current, March 04, 2005, Page 3, Image 3', download_links: [ { link: 'http://www.loc.gov/rss/ndnp/ndnp.xml', label: 'application/rss+xml', meta: 'News about NYS Historic Newspapers - RSS Feed', }, { link: '/lccn/np00010002/2005-03-04/ed-1/seq-3/png/', label: 'image/png', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00010002/2005-03-04/ed-1/seq-3.pdf', label: 'application/pdf', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00010002/2005-03-04/ed-1/seq-3/ocr.xml', label: 'application/xml', meta: '', }, { link: '/lccn/np00010002/2005-03-04/ed-1/seq-3/ocr.txt', label: 'text/plain', meta: '', }, ] }
Image provided by: Northern NY Library Network
THE HILL NE WS, March 4.2005 OPINIONS PAGE 3 Letters Continued from page 2 voices of their fellow students heard. In fact, many of the pro- testors donned St. Lawrence sweatshirts in support of the place that they love. If anyone hates St. Lawrence, it is those students who wish to silence the concerns raised by the protest- or's. They wish to end the dis- cussions which might lead to the solutions of many major cam- pus issues. -Rolando Pintos '07 Political Columns in the mil I agree with Josh Lynch that perhaps a column which is ba- sically a venting of anguish and - frustration should not be pre- sented as political commentary. That- is the last point he made that I am able to accept as valid. •I consider myself liberal and have done so my whole life; I do not, however, \scream about how capitalism is evil\ nor do I consider Hugo Chavez and Castro to be \great role models for peace and security in the Western Hemisphere.\ Per- haps Mr. Lynch really does be-, lieve that liberal and Marxist are identical terms, but they are not —- any more than are con- servative . and Fascist. Each week since the Left, and Right sides of the hill have been . running in this paper I read them, hoping to get some in- sight into the political climate of the student community on campus. I am certain that .there are many students at St. Lawrence who are capable of a knowledgeable and nuanced pre- sentation of liberal and conser- vative viewpoints but I fear such a presentation is not the pur- pose of this column: Liberals may think of them- selves as soft hearted, Conser- vatives as hard headed in their approach to the role of govern- ment in the lives of a people. In a campaign it may be politic to depict a Liberal as soft-headed; a Conservative as hard-hearted, but it should not be the total message of one side or the other. Nearly every easily accessible venue of public discourse now features a forum which ostensi' . bly presents both sides of issues of concern to the public. I sup^ pose the Left/Right Side... jumped on this bandwagon. But especially at a University it •would be so refreshing not to have the same old distortion, ridicule, scorn, name calling, and refusal to consider that the view of the other side has a scrap of value, masquerading as a valid presentation of ideology. Surely we can do better than that. Julia Courtney Thoughts on the Protest Saturday morning there was a protest at the Trustees meet-: ing to voice the displeasure of students regarding certain ac- tions taken by the President. The Trustees, with the excep- tion of a few, ignored the stu- dents completely. In a n almost response the students received yet another question and non- answer session from President Sullivan. During said session, I had the misfortune of sitting next to a man muttering under his breath about ridiculous stu- dent questions. I couldn't see his name tag, so I'm hot exactly certain who he was, although I'm reasonably certain he was a trustee. Needless to say-; I was not pleased. Good to know the Trustees really care about the students. Afterward, I started thinking about who gets a voice on this campus and who doesn't. I ; thought about the little ways that students are silenced. For instance, why are conservative senators called on more often in Thelmo, and why do some tri- partite committees have repre- sentatives at Trustees meetings, while others do not? Some clubs and organizations are more ac- cepted than others, and some flyers are defaced while others are left untouched. Then some- one asked me if I felt safe on this campus. Without even think- ing, I said no. Why would I feel safe? I am an outspoken, physi- cally small woman, who typi- cally holds controversial opin- ions, on a campus that has a history of violence against those who challenge the status quo. Afterward, I realized that wasn't entirely true. It's not that I don't feel safe; it's that I feel -patronized. No one ever says \aww -isn't the little leftist cute, she's trying to change the world again,\ but that's the message. The left isn't sup- pressed, we're just treated like children. We are granted our right to protest, to hang up fly- ers, to erect green walls. We can meet with the administra- tion about anything, and we can voice our opinions whenever we feel like it. But the opinions are never seriously considered. The censorship of Take Back our Campus (TBOC) and the changes in the Acceptable Use Policy has upset a good chunk of students. I have heard many people fume that TBOC would not have been censored had the targets been other sectors of campus. Sectors that aren't white, heterosexual, or conser- vative; Would the website have become such a big deal if those being attacked on the website had not gone crying to the ad- ministration on such a consis- tent basis? If the targets were people, used to discrimination, would President Sullivan still change an entire policy in order to censor a single website? In essence, I have decided that it's hot that certain segments of the student.population are si- lenced. It's that opinion that will get you nowhere unless you have ingratiated yourself with every administrator in sight, befriended Trustees who don't disregard your opinion, and it probably wouldn't hurt if you're a full pay with a legacy.. Oh yeah, and most importantly, never disagree with anything, ever,.becau$e no one cares. Jessi Burg'07 COME WATCH MEN'S LACROSSE TAKE ON THE CURRY COLONELS SUNDAY AT 1 P.M: ON THE NORTH COUNTRY FIELD! THE WEEK OF MARCH 4,2005 SAINT: Water polo! A stel- SAINT: The NCAA Diver- lar cardiovascular workout and sity Conference on.Monday provided agressive play make for a memorable an opportunity for representatives practice,ThankyoucoacheSi and let's '. from all athletic teams both to learn make it a club sport! and bond widi one another. SAINT: Here's to the hockev teams for making the playoffs! All students should attend the \Red Out\ this weekend and support our Skating Saints! ; ^§g|gi»p^ •protest; Kj^^ta^^'Jlsiiftinofc'dtar-T- &milyi»w|id^Hst contributed' tniHiohs to your.?welI^Mae. * '• \RJWSATOHY: > The^cur- reift blizzard \might prove a. hassle getting to class, but this sweet pow- der^ make for a nice skiing exhibi- tion, at Snowbowl. PURGATORY: Car trouble in the snow is frustrating, but always an opportunity for a cute unknown person of the opposite gender to come to your rescue, SINNER: PI >\vmu c.ir>- m SINNER: W >< > MIDTKRMS. SINNER: Perhaps xw w id av.itmu sin >\\ li.ink-- t 1I.IT W C >n't W< >rk is uross. I.\ vrv< >n<_ < >n campus inn lurtcrx system could be better kit uniil M.i\. 1 III.MRI smini\ is f.i li.is h.ul the plague Inramonih. l.tt's explained tu first rears and transfer nil.ir wuli the IIIW omp.im, e.m a jusi nm work and s.i\ vvdkl. Rcad\, students s., tlicv don't have to live L;CI S, >HK |i i\ er in tents on the quae QUESTIONS OF THE WEEK! What sled wOJ be the fastest, the flashiest and have the most foolhardy crew on board at Snowbowl? Will anyone beat out the OC's venison chili? Who will be that'lucky kid this year who decides to walk under the ski jump? QUOTATION OF THE WEEK! \The free-lance writer is a man who is paid per piece or per word or perhaps\ - Robert Benchley \; As I apparently have not been putting enough politics into my political column, this week I'll spell it out for everyone. Last Saturday, there was a protest in the Student Center. The pro- test revolved around the displea- sure of a number of students in regards to the censorship of Take Back our Campus (TBOC) and the changes made in the Acceptable Use Policy (AUP). over winter break. For more information on the protest itself, read Chad Burbank's article on the topic. The reasons for the protest, important though they are, are not particularly relevant to today's discussion. The rel- evant part is that we, as stu- dents of this university and citi^ zens of this country, were air lowed to protest. We peacefully assembled, and exercised our right to free speech. We were not expelled, arrested, or even harassed for our protest. The only rights being violated were the ones we had gathered to pro- tect. There is one very impor- tant reason for all this: -we live in a country founded by traitors. Before you get all defensive, hear me out. Every single up- per class white male who signed the Declaration of Independence THE LEFT SIDE OF THE HILL Jessi Burg Columnist was a traitor to his country, since, at the time, they were still Englishmen. However, after fighting a war to win their right to govern themselves, these traitors sat down, argued for awhile, and came out with the Constitution. These two docu- ments were absolutely impera- tive in the formation of this new land that is America. Con : tained within these is one very important idea: if you don't like the government, overthrow it, and make a new. one. Having just performed said action, the founding fathers knew what they were talking about. It was important to these men to ensure that there was a safe- guard against the ruling body ever becoming ineffective or cor- rupt. In their mind, dissent against a poor ruling body was a necessary fact of life. And so, because we live in a country founded by traitors, we are allowed to. do one of the very best things there is: dissent. Most of the time, dissent does not warrant an entire overhaul of the government. Only once has it resulted in a second war where a party fought for independence. Most of the time, dissenting is a means of reform. Some- times, however, in all of this . crazy dissenting that goes on, that message is lost. People equate dissent with hatred. _This weekend, because there were members of the student body exercising their right to dissent, others felt that the pro- testers must hate St. Lawrence. The two are not mu- tually exclusive. While it is en- tirely possible that some of the protesters there did hate St. Lawrence, most were there be- cause they wanted change. The ruling body had enacted a policy and a sanction the people did not agree with. And for this, stu- dents clearly must hate St. Lawrence. I feel that the students who hung the sign stating that \We ? SLIT and \We Support Presi- dent Sullivan failed to grasp this.\ As Henry Commager put, it, \If our democracy is to flour- ish, it must have criticism; if our government is to function it must have dissent.\ People do not stage a protest when they hate the ruling body, they either destroy the ruling body or they leave. In the case of a university, students.transfer, in the case of countries, people emigrate. A protest merely means a por- tion of the population cares enough to stay and attempt to create change. The founding fathers recog- nized this, and built this right to create change into the very fabric of our country. They wouldn't have woven an entire country around this principle if they hadn't thought it was im- portant. Keep that in mind the next time you criticize someone for disagreeing -with an author- ity figure; : 1 I Subscribe to The Hill News You or your loved ones off campus can have The Hill News delivered to them each week. Please clip out this I slip and attach $20 cash, or check to The Hill News and return it to: I I Mr. Shawn Mayo-Pike J\ The Hill News - Managing. Editor 1617 CMR - St. Lawrence University Canton, NY 13617 \ Title J Name ,__• • Street. Address City ; I Zip I O State I
