2008 Woodie Awards
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR
Issue date: 2/23/06 Section: Opinion/Editorial
- Page 1 of 1
Graduation pledge marks beginning of impact
Webster University teaches us that social responsibility is a part of everyday life. It is the university's mission to "(foster) in its students a lifelong desire to learn and a commitment to contribute actively to their communities and the world." The graduation pledge is an opportunity for students to personally define and exhibit their own sense of social and environmental responsibility.
We want to take the pledge because we feel graduation is not merely a "day set aside to praise the achievements of those who have worked for years to receive a diploma." Graduation is not the end, in fact, it marks our beginning. Graduation is also an important opportunity to show our friends and family how our education has impacted our personal lives and strengthened our commitment to the future. The pledge tangibly melds our academic experiences with the real world.
However, it tends to be misconstrued as promoting a liberal agenda and self-righteousness, or as the "glorification of certain viewpoints." The pledge itself is voluntary, and the individual decides for herself what constitutes environmentally and socially responsible behavior. In turn, the university endorses the pledge as an option for students, recognizing the value of being critically aware.
Does a ribbon have the power to distinguish between the "good" and the "bad?" The symbol of status afforded to the green ribbon could equally be extended to other honors given at graduation. What's unique about this symbol is that students have the choice not to display the green ribbon, just as they have the choice not to sign the pledge. The pledge is only meaningful for those who want it to be meaningful. If you think the pledge is meaningless, don't sign it.
Hannah Gruber
Senior
Philosophy Major
and Rebecca Walsh
Senior
Art History and Philosophy
Academia needs more freedom, not less
After reading through Michael Palumbo's commentary regarding "crunchy, granola-eating, liberal, hippie-thinking burnouts," I was unsure whether to take his disjointed rant seriously. Perhaps what strikes me above all the other idiosyncrasies of Mr. Palumbo's tirade against "book-learnin'" is the sheer hypocrisy of it all. Here he is, calling academia a "circle-jerk" in the midst of jerking himself off to the beat of his own abstract philosophy of education. Other than a truckload of sweeping generalizations and quotes from "The Simpsons," Tony Soprano and Phil Collins, there's not much to consider in Mr. Palumbo's commentary. However, I think what's left of his commentary is complete bullshit.
Of course, there is more to life than academics, as is so eloquently put by Mr. Palumbo -but academics are not "an overly simplistic explanation for why things are the way there are" and when the "crap" that we are being taught contradicts something else we've learned, we are certainly capable of discussing the merits of one piece of information versus another as part of the learning process.
I'm sorry to say that learning about the world around us doesn't fit in a neat, self-explanatory package or a 45-minute business lunch, but that's the way it is and that's the way it should be. Finally, I've had enough of the "invisible hand of the free market" trash. What academia needs is complete freedom. Every person in the world should have the freedom to explore any subject they desire to as great a depth as they wish. The only way society can advance beyond its past failures is for its members to expand their knowledge of the world.
No half-baked economic philosophy is going to do this, and neither are people who apparently sit around and eat granola - without the help of Tony Soprano, anyway.
Keith Bryan
Junior
History and
English Major
Media Literacy program keeps students in the know
This week's Journal highlighted a study by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, disclosing that fewer than 50 percent of university students can perform complex literacy tasks such as analyzing news stories. I am pleased to report that Webster University has taken a national leadership role in furnishing students with strategies to decipher media messages.
Media literacy is a critical thinking skill that is directed at the source of most of our information - the channels of mass communication. Webster University is the only university in the country that offers graduate degrees in media literacy in both the School of Communications and the School of Education, as well as an undergraduate degree in the School of Communications. Moreover, MEDC 1630, Media Literacy, is a course requirement for all students who major in media communications.
The School of Communications recognizes that it is essential for students to develop a critical distance from the media so they will be empowered to make independent judgments about the information they receive.
Thanks to reporter Michelle Oyola for her excellent coverage of this issue.
Art Silverblatt
Professor
Department of Communications and
Journalism
St. Louis superior to L.A. in many ways
I promised myself that I would stop writing letters to The Journal now that I am an alumnus because it makes me feel like the creepy undergrad that still trolls the high school parties.
Still, I get homesick and sometimes can't help myself. Reading the "Dear St. Louis" op-ed has catalyzed one of these times.
• Complaining that you can't get a direct flight from Los Angeles to St. Louis is a grievance that solicits as much sympathy as, "Woe is me, I could only afford the hard-top Porsche."
• Speaking of L.A., when I lived there during a summer internship, it took me an average of 45 minutes to an hour to drive from my house in Silver Lake to Santa Monica, regardless of whether I took the 101 to the 110 to the 10 or felt festive and took Santa Monica Boulevard the entire way. That's a distance of roughly 10 miles. That's pretty unfortunate, namely because L.A.'s public transportation system is inferior to Chicago's L, Boston's T, and even Washington, D.C.'s Metrorail, regardless of the fact that L.A. is the second most populous city in the country.
When Forbes recently surveyed the worst traffic crunch sites in the United States, L.A. was the only city to make multiple appearances. The St. Louis area - that civic planning happy accident of "15 minutes to anywhere" - didn't even make the cut. Must've been that preposterous minimum speed limit.
• Did Mayor Francis Slay pass a city proclamation stating that Lanz Christian Bañes shall heretofore be referred to only as Oriental? Is there a big banner hanging from the Arch with your smiling face on it with the phrase, "Chinaman, not PHILLIPPINO!" underneath?
If you answered yes to both of these questions, then you are truly a victim. If the answers are no, then you are truly quick to snappily judge the merits of a population of thousands versus the idiocy of one. How level-headed.
• Photoshopping the Mississippi is just another marketing technique. Like Photoshopping the smog.
Your points about the slow rejuvenation of the downtown area and the underwhelming public education system are valid, but they get drowned in your smug, hipper-than-thou, utterly transparent sugar-coating of your distaste for St. Louis. If St. Louis is such a Dickensian slum compared to your utopian, enlightened, racially-harmonious (ha) Southern California, then, by all means, happy trails, and I hope you picked up some good war stories while you were in the Midwest.
In the meantime, save the egotism for your blog and concentrate your efforts on some actually pressing issues.
And quit hating on one of my favorite cities.
Andy Hobin
Alumnus '05
New York City
Journal regains credibility with apology
Congratulations to the editors and staff of The Journal. By taking responsibility for a misleading headline and one-sided story on the pay scale for under subscribed courses, you've earned back your reputation in my eyes as Missouri's Best Collegiate newspaper. In your Editor's Note on page 4 of the Feb. 16-22 issue of the paper, you did the self monitoring that I feel the media owes its readers in return for the powerful right of freedom of expression without prior restraint.
The promise of a more thoroughly researched and documented story in the future on this complex topic is heartening. As you have discovered since publishing the first less-than-stellar story Feb. 9, there are more points of view and interpretations of the facts on this issue than those represented by the individuals sharing their opinions on the Webster University discussion listserv.
As a tip to those readers of The Journal who have a complaint, a compliment or a story idea to share with the student journalists, I recommend using the public forum of the Publications Board as the medium for your voice. As some of you know, this forum is made up of all the student editors, the journalism and photojournalism professors, elected faculty representatives of the Faculty Assembly and the Dean of Students, Ted Hoef. The meetings are open to all students, faculty, administrators, the staff and the general public.
Last Friday, I took my complaint with the coverage of the adjusted pay scale to the Publications Board. We aired our opinions openly and candidly and, in my opinion, we all left the meeting with a better understanding of the subject and the coverage, even though we did not necessarily agree.
The Journal is a student publication that serves as a learning laboratory. As good as the publication is, just as in all classroom learning situations, there are times when the assignment earns less than 100 percent. The Publications Board is the place to nurture additional learning outcomes beyond learning to put out the paper on time. It is a place for reflection after and beyond the pressure of meeting deadlines. But it can only serve that purpose when the Webster University community takes an active part in voicing opinions.
From the viewpoints expressed through the ages by figures such as John Milton to John Stuart Mill theories of the "self-righting process" of the press in the "free marketplace of ideas" contend that truth, when allowed free reign, will emerge victorious in any encounter. Nothing less than democracy depends on a society where divergent points of view are free to be expressed. The best journalism, again in my opinion, is journalism that ferrets out these divergent points of view and allows for an open exchange of opinions or facts.
Again, congratulations to the students of The Journal for taking it squarely on the chin and creating their own response to a poorly written story. I look forward to reading a more balanced story in the future as the editors have promised.
Debra Carpenter
Dean
School of Communications
Webster University teaches us that social responsibility is a part of everyday life. It is the university's mission to "(foster) in its students a lifelong desire to learn and a commitment to contribute actively to their communities and the world." The graduation pledge is an opportunity for students to personally define and exhibit their own sense of social and environmental responsibility.
We want to take the pledge because we feel graduation is not merely a "day set aside to praise the achievements of those who have worked for years to receive a diploma." Graduation is not the end, in fact, it marks our beginning. Graduation is also an important opportunity to show our friends and family how our education has impacted our personal lives and strengthened our commitment to the future. The pledge tangibly melds our academic experiences with the real world.
However, it tends to be misconstrued as promoting a liberal agenda and self-righteousness, or as the "glorification of certain viewpoints." The pledge itself is voluntary, and the individual decides for herself what constitutes environmentally and socially responsible behavior. In turn, the university endorses the pledge as an option for students, recognizing the value of being critically aware.
Does a ribbon have the power to distinguish between the "good" and the "bad?" The symbol of status afforded to the green ribbon could equally be extended to other honors given at graduation. What's unique about this symbol is that students have the choice not to display the green ribbon, just as they have the choice not to sign the pledge. The pledge is only meaningful for those who want it to be meaningful. If you think the pledge is meaningless, don't sign it.
Hannah Gruber
Senior
Philosophy Major
and Rebecca Walsh
Senior
Art History and Philosophy
Academia needs more freedom, not less
After reading through Michael Palumbo's commentary regarding "crunchy, granola-eating, liberal, hippie-thinking burnouts," I was unsure whether to take his disjointed rant seriously. Perhaps what strikes me above all the other idiosyncrasies of Mr. Palumbo's tirade against "book-learnin'" is the sheer hypocrisy of it all. Here he is, calling academia a "circle-jerk" in the midst of jerking himself off to the beat of his own abstract philosophy of education. Other than a truckload of sweeping generalizations and quotes from "The Simpsons," Tony Soprano and Phil Collins, there's not much to consider in Mr. Palumbo's commentary. However, I think what's left of his commentary is complete bullshit.
Of course, there is more to life than academics, as is so eloquently put by Mr. Palumbo -but academics are not "an overly simplistic explanation for why things are the way there are" and when the "crap" that we are being taught contradicts something else we've learned, we are certainly capable of discussing the merits of one piece of information versus another as part of the learning process.
I'm sorry to say that learning about the world around us doesn't fit in a neat, self-explanatory package or a 45-minute business lunch, but that's the way it is and that's the way it should be. Finally, I've had enough of the "invisible hand of the free market" trash. What academia needs is complete freedom. Every person in the world should have the freedom to explore any subject they desire to as great a depth as they wish. The only way society can advance beyond its past failures is for its members to expand their knowledge of the world.
No half-baked economic philosophy is going to do this, and neither are people who apparently sit around and eat granola - without the help of Tony Soprano, anyway.
Keith Bryan
Junior
History and
English Major
Media Literacy program keeps students in the know
This week's Journal highlighted a study by the National Center for Public Policy and Higher Education, disclosing that fewer than 50 percent of university students can perform complex literacy tasks such as analyzing news stories. I am pleased to report that Webster University has taken a national leadership role in furnishing students with strategies to decipher media messages.
Media literacy is a critical thinking skill that is directed at the source of most of our information - the channels of mass communication. Webster University is the only university in the country that offers graduate degrees in media literacy in both the School of Communications and the School of Education, as well as an undergraduate degree in the School of Communications. Moreover, MEDC 1630, Media Literacy, is a course requirement for all students who major in media communications.
The School of Communications recognizes that it is essential for students to develop a critical distance from the media so they will be empowered to make independent judgments about the information they receive.
Thanks to reporter Michelle Oyola for her excellent coverage of this issue.
Art Silverblatt
Professor
Department of Communications and
Journalism
St. Louis superior to L.A. in many ways
I promised myself that I would stop writing letters to The Journal now that I am an alumnus because it makes me feel like the creepy undergrad that still trolls the high school parties.
Still, I get homesick and sometimes can't help myself. Reading the "Dear St. Louis" op-ed has catalyzed one of these times.
• Complaining that you can't get a direct flight from Los Angeles to St. Louis is a grievance that solicits as much sympathy as, "Woe is me, I could only afford the hard-top Porsche."
• Speaking of L.A., when I lived there during a summer internship, it took me an average of 45 minutes to an hour to drive from my house in Silver Lake to Santa Monica, regardless of whether I took the 101 to the 110 to the 10 or felt festive and took Santa Monica Boulevard the entire way. That's a distance of roughly 10 miles. That's pretty unfortunate, namely because L.A.'s public transportation system is inferior to Chicago's L, Boston's T, and even Washington, D.C.'s Metrorail, regardless of the fact that L.A. is the second most populous city in the country.
When Forbes recently surveyed the worst traffic crunch sites in the United States, L.A. was the only city to make multiple appearances. The St. Louis area - that civic planning happy accident of "15 minutes to anywhere" - didn't even make the cut. Must've been that preposterous minimum speed limit.
• Did Mayor Francis Slay pass a city proclamation stating that Lanz Christian Bañes shall heretofore be referred to only as Oriental? Is there a big banner hanging from the Arch with your smiling face on it with the phrase, "Chinaman, not PHILLIPPINO!" underneath?
If you answered yes to both of these questions, then you are truly a victim. If the answers are no, then you are truly quick to snappily judge the merits of a population of thousands versus the idiocy of one. How level-headed.
• Photoshopping the Mississippi is just another marketing technique. Like Photoshopping the smog.
Your points about the slow rejuvenation of the downtown area and the underwhelming public education system are valid, but they get drowned in your smug, hipper-than-thou, utterly transparent sugar-coating of your distaste for St. Louis. If St. Louis is such a Dickensian slum compared to your utopian, enlightened, racially-harmonious (ha) Southern California, then, by all means, happy trails, and I hope you picked up some good war stories while you were in the Midwest.
In the meantime, save the egotism for your blog and concentrate your efforts on some actually pressing issues.
And quit hating on one of my favorite cities.
Andy Hobin
Alumnus '05
New York City
Journal regains credibility with apology
Congratulations to the editors and staff of The Journal. By taking responsibility for a misleading headline and one-sided story on the pay scale for under subscribed courses, you've earned back your reputation in my eyes as Missouri's Best Collegiate newspaper. In your Editor's Note on page 4 of the Feb. 16-22 issue of the paper, you did the self monitoring that I feel the media owes its readers in return for the powerful right of freedom of expression without prior restraint.
The promise of a more thoroughly researched and documented story in the future on this complex topic is heartening. As you have discovered since publishing the first less-than-stellar story Feb. 9, there are more points of view and interpretations of the facts on this issue than those represented by the individuals sharing their opinions on the Webster University discussion listserv.
As a tip to those readers of The Journal who have a complaint, a compliment or a story idea to share with the student journalists, I recommend using the public forum of the Publications Board as the medium for your voice. As some of you know, this forum is made up of all the student editors, the journalism and photojournalism professors, elected faculty representatives of the Faculty Assembly and the Dean of Students, Ted Hoef. The meetings are open to all students, faculty, administrators, the staff and the general public.
Last Friday, I took my complaint with the coverage of the adjusted pay scale to the Publications Board. We aired our opinions openly and candidly and, in my opinion, we all left the meeting with a better understanding of the subject and the coverage, even though we did not necessarily agree.
The Journal is a student publication that serves as a learning laboratory. As good as the publication is, just as in all classroom learning situations, there are times when the assignment earns less than 100 percent. The Publications Board is the place to nurture additional learning outcomes beyond learning to put out the paper on time. It is a place for reflection after and beyond the pressure of meeting deadlines. But it can only serve that purpose when the Webster University community takes an active part in voicing opinions.
From the viewpoints expressed through the ages by figures such as John Milton to John Stuart Mill theories of the "self-righting process" of the press in the "free marketplace of ideas" contend that truth, when allowed free reign, will emerge victorious in any encounter. Nothing less than democracy depends on a society where divergent points of view are free to be expressed. The best journalism, again in my opinion, is journalism that ferrets out these divergent points of view and allows for an open exchange of opinions or facts.
Again, congratulations to the students of The Journal for taking it squarely on the chin and creating their own response to a poorly written story. I look forward to reading a more balanced story in the future as the editors have promised.
Debra Carpenter
Dean
School of Communications