I am the President of Women Against Violence and Sexual Assault.
Imagine that you are meeting your friends at Skipper's and you are running late. You are driving a little faster than you should, and your phone is buzzing and beeping with incoming messages asking where you are.
By James Steinbauer, Editorial Editor
More than likely you're old enough to vote, right? You're a smart student, you try to stay informed on current events, you check Google news every now and then. That's definitely more than your friends back home (Chicago, Cincinnati, Columbus, etc.).
I take immense pride in my recycling record. I go out of my way to bring reusable bags to go grocery shopping. I always turn the lights off when I leave a room. I thought I was the green queen.
The following piece, written by the editorial editors, reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board.
Menace to Sobriety, The Panty Dropper, Octapussy and Study A Broad are just a few off campus house names that come to mind as a part of the Miami 'culture.'
I am deeply troubled by lack of coverage over the incident that transpired over Easter weekend. President Hodge's email to the student body was not enough. His inaction to give sufficient details on the incident left me with an impression of someone trying to sweep a hateful act under the rug. Who is he trying to protect? Racists, homophobes and anti-semites? Why not protect the people who were deeply affected by those terrible comments posted in Wells Hall and the unnamed fraternities. I believe that Hodge's vagueness in his email to the student body could be seen as an attempt to try to cover the fact that we have a very serious issue with racism, sexism, religious intolerance and homophobia here at Miami University. This wasn't a one time incident. Throughout the school year I've read about instances in this very paper about racist acts brought against students who attend this institution.
Ever since I was in high school, I have had a slight obsession with PostSecret books. I loved checking them out at the library and pouring through them with my friends. Some of the secrets were funny, some were sad, and some were just so absurd they made us wonder who on Earth had submitted them. For those of you who don't know, PostSecret is an organization started by Frank Warren in 2005 as a community art project. He began by walking around his neighborhood handing out blank postcards and encouraging strangers to write a secret and send it back to his home address. He has since received over a million secrets from people around the world and published six books.
Jonathan Masters stated, "The debate over gun control in the United States has waxed and waned over the years, stirred by a series of incidents involving mass killings by gunmen in civilian settings." I am sure this has been on the minds of our parents and maybe a majority of the student body here at Miami University. Unfortunately, this is a real threat; the university is filled with people at all times of the day, and as we have seen on the news mass killings by a person using a gun at a college campus is a very real threat.
In the last month, The Miami Student has featured numerous Letters to the Editor, column pieces (mine included), editorials and a front page story, all covering
The staff of The Miami Student offered a majority opinion editorial in which they suggested wistfully that maybe these tough sexual assault issues should be punted to law enforcement. While I understand why this may seem the most logical solution to a complex problem, it reveals a fundamental misunderstanding of university processes and why they are needed.
Miami was one of nearly 200 colleges to join President Obama's "It's On Us" campaign, which raises awareness to stop sexual violence and interpersonal violence on college campuses. This initiative encourages students across the country to speak out and take action against these crimes. Miami developed a weeklong program in March to promote this cause. As students, I don't think we fully grasp how blessed we are to live in a country that values and upholds our rights and liberties. "It's On Us" is a chance for our country to have an open dialogue about the prevalent issue of sexual violence.
The following piece, written by the editorial editors, reflects the majority opinion of the editorial board.
Milam's Musings, milambc@miamioh.edu
I read with great interest and gratitude The Miami Student's excellent article on sexual assault reports and sanctions at Miami University. I wanted to respond to a couple of the troubling comments made by the administrators in your piece.
