pendulum
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 7, 2011 // PAGE 11
Opinions
Kate Riley
Columnist
Excessive
photo editing
dishonest,
misleading
As if the annual Victoria’s Secret
Fashion Show weren’t enough, creating
the perfect body image has become
a part of
everyday hfe
for so many
women, and
billboards,
television
shows and
photographs
have skewed
what beauty
really is.
Retouching.
Altering.
Changing. All
of these words
point to the
overarching
goal:
improving.
The lighting
and setting
may be fine,
but photographers and editors often
seem to find something wrong with
the subject of a photo, often a person.
So, why not just erase a few
pounds in a few seconds? What about
adding shimmer to an eye or height
to a model — what’s the harm in that?
The answer is simple: everything.
There is a reason I always wanted
to be a photojournalist — to tell
the truth. To capture a moment
that often cannot be described
adequately in words. But too often
a moment has been “made better"
through smoothing over a person’s
face, brightening their hair color or
removing an unwanted item in the
foreground.
But what good does this really do?
This doesn’t show the moment that
actually happened. It makes it fake.
And this is what makes women today
believe they aren’t good enough. I am
a victim of it. At some point. I’m sure
that most women, let alone college-
age women, have fallen victim to it.
We all want to be as pretty as the girl
on television. Or in a magazine. Or on
a billboard.
“Fix one thing, then another
and pretty soon you end up with
Barbie,” said Hany Farid, a professor
of computer science and a digital
forensics expert at Dartmouth in an
interview with The New York Times.
It’s true — once the software is
learned and used, it’s hard to quit,
to suppress the desire to make the
girl that much skinnier or to make
the subject look a little bit more like
you want in order to convey a certain
message. Take TIME magazine’s
1994 O.J. Simpson cover. TIME used
Simpson’s mug shot as its cover
photo, and it probably would have
been OK — if Newsweek hadn’t run
the same photo in its original form.
TIME darkened Simpson’s mug
shot, making him look more sinister
and, in turn, guilty. This is a prime
example of photo manipulation, an
example of why it should never be
done.
A news publication is supposed to
be unbiased and tell a news story as
it is, without offering any opinion or
advice. Yeah, a lot of people thought
Simpson was guilty, but that doesn t
mean a news organization gets to
publicly announce its view. Why do
you think so many people don’t trust
the media anymore?
So please, keep the photo
retouching to a minimum. I admit
I alter the brightness and contrast
sometimes, but this is to better show
the action of the photo and bring
clarity, not to make up what is not
there. Just watch what you do.
It’s not worth it to lose your
reputation as a photographer just to
look 10 pounds skinnier.
Let’s stick to the facts instead.
Students: The Pendulum needs you
Past year has been challenging, but not without rewards
Anna Johnson
Outgoing Editor-in-Chief
It’s not often a 15-year-old girl
determines her life course while
stuffing JCPenney inserts into a small
eight-page
weekly
newspaper
at the crack
of dawn. But
then again,
I consider
myself one
of the lucky
ones.
I based my
entire college
decision on
finding a
journalism
program and
newspaper
I admired.
I remember
visiting Elon and pressing my nose up
to the glass door of the old office of The
Pendulum, an actual bank building, and
imagined what it would be like to be on
staff, wondering why they had a vault.
Now I’m facing an all-too-real reality.
It’s my last edition as The Pendulum’s
Editor-in-Chief. It might be the most
bittersweet moment of my life.
1 never thought in my two and a
half years on The Pendulum staff that
I would organize our 2010 midterm
election coverage or fall in love with
crime reporting. 1 didn’t expect to move
offices twice or conquer my fear of
public speaking. And I couldn’t have
imagined finding some of my best
friends and a second home.
The staff I’ve had the privilege
of working with this past year has
continued to amaze and surpass all
of my expectations. There have been
many occasions when I’ve sat back just
to marvel at the passion and level of
dedication that resonates with these
Pendulum staffers.
There’ve been
countless sleepless
nights. Yet,
regardless of the
hours sacrificed,
this staff has been
able to produce
quality news and
entertainment for
the student body and
greater community.
A vibrant free press
is necessary for
the health of this
community and I’ve
enjoyed seeing this news organization
take stronger stances on issues deemed
important by the student body.
These changes couldn’t have
occurred without the help and devotion
of so many staff members. A particular
thanks goes out to our seniors: Rebecca
Smith, Lauren Ramsdell, Justin
Veldhuis, Sarah Carideo, Nick Zanetti,
Eva Hill, Brian Allenby, Elizabeth
Everett, Julia Murphy, Julia Sayers,
Amanda Bender, Sam Calvert, Jack
Rodenfels, Bonnie Efird, Jack Dodson
and Ashley Jobe. The Pendulum will
hate to see you go and 1 wish you all the
A vibrant free press is
necessary for the health
of this community and I’ve
enjoyed seeing this news
organization take stronger
stances on issues
deemed important by the
student body.
best in your future endeavors.
During the past year I’ve also worked
closely with The Pendulum's adviser,
Colin Donohue, who has provided
constant support, feedback, advice and
encouragement on our constant pursuit
of perfection. Our webmaster, J.D.
Parsons, has also worked with our staff
as we continue to become a web-first
publication and we
appreciate all of his
efforts.
The gains this
year will not be lost
with the incoming
staff. Caitlin
O’Donnell, the
incoming Editor-in-
Chief, is a talented
journalist that
consistently and
continuously leaves
me in awe. She’s
picked a vivacious
staff that will continue to push the
administration when it is in the wrong
and challenge the status quo. I am so
excited to see what they accomplish and
how they continue to improve.
But they will need your help. This is
your newspaper. The Pendulum needs
your voices. Give us your story ideas
and what you want to see in your news
organization. Tell The Pendulum staff
when they’re right and when they’ve
missed the mark. You can shape the
future of this organization and your
perspective is vital for its continued
success.
Elon is our school, but are we our school’s keeper?
Zachary Horner
Columnist
The Elon University honor pledge
states, “On my honor, 1 will uphold
the values of Elon University: honesty,
integrity,
responsibility,
respect.” The
university’s
website states
this applies
not only on
campus, but
“in locations
and at events
not occurring
on campus,”
“in locations
abroad” and
“in situations
involving
technology
as a means of
recording or
communication.”
Essentially, wherever you go, you
represent Elon. Every first year student
is supposed to attend the Call to Honor
ceremony during the fall of their first
year and sign said pledge.
On the other hand, it states if you
go to a school and
something bad at that
school happens, you are
also associated with that
unfortunate event.
Take the recent
scandal at Pennsylvania
State University. Emily
Kaplan, a columnist for
The Daily Collegian,
Pennsylvania State’s
student newspaper,
wrote a piece titled “Our
pride should not change,
we are Penn State.” She
writes about going home
for Thanksgiving break
and being pestered by
family members and
friends searching for a
thought on the incident
and that she got strange
looks when she wore
a Pennsylvania State
football shirt to the
grocery store.
She writes, “We’ve
been thrust into the roles
of ambassadors for Penn
State. That doesn’t mean
we always have to defend the university.
I don’t know about you, but I'd have a
hard time doing that wholeheartedly.
Instead we must prove that this scandal
and these men aren't what Penn State
is all about. We are so much more than
that.”
Kaplan may think that and want to
preach. It is an admirable plan of action
in the face of this horrible tragedy. But,
I wonder, is it realistic? The actions of
Jerry Sandusky have placed a black mark
on that university forever. Whenever
anyone thinks Penn State, they will
now associate it with sexual abuse gone
unreported for way too long.
Here at Elon, students are reminded
that all of their actions reflect not only
themselves, but the university and all
the organizations with which they are
involved.
The reason? Because we are Elon
students. When people who know
us look at us, they will think we are
an extension of Elon. That includes
everything from academics, values,
beliefs. When an Elon student does
something, it reflects on the university.
That is the point of emphasizing our
connection with Elon no matter where
we are in the world. But, as evidenced
by the Pennsylvania State incident, as
Kaplan described, what our university
does reflects on us, as well.
The matter at stake here is this: we
are our school’s keeper just by signing
up to take classes and live here. Is it
fair? Unfortunately, yes. By attending
this institution, we allow ourselves
to be made statistics on the website
and happy students in brochures and
admissions videos. Does it take away
some of our individual diversity? Sure.
In the “real world,” if you don’t count
college as that, we can be fired from
our companies from how we reflect on
them, even if it does not break the law or
offend the majority Elon senior running
back Jamal Shuman, for instance, was
suspended from the team for the last
two games for comments he made on
Twitter.
It may not be fair to us as individuals,
but it is a fact of society. So we sit here in
our classrooms and dorms, representing
Elon as one student body because that’s
the deal we signed up for. The way we do
that, though, is entirely up to us.
ARE
WE
WA.
mm
students were actually involved at all.