Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / April 1, 1999, edition 1 / Page 11
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UnFocused April 1, 1999 11 from DOLL, page 10 Maybe my neighbor across jthe way is a hard-core Dole fan; does my sticker, in the words of Tulane’s edict, “interfere with an individual’s work or academic per formance by creating an intimidat ing, hostile, or offensive environ ment?” Maybe I’m Jewish and I don’t like the fact that my Palestinian neighbor has a picture of Yassar Arafat up in his window. Maybe I’m black and I don’t want to see a David Duke poster (or a Confederate flag?) in my face as I walk to class everyday. Maybe my roommate collects Teletubbies, and I despise gay people. Do you see where this is go ing? If enough people had been genuinely outraged by the doll (does the doll have a name, by the way?), they would have protested louder. They would have picketed outside the dorm, or thrown eggs at the window, or somehow ostracized Mays and Rosser from the Tulane community. They didn’t. Is this a bad thing? Maybe, Maybe people shouldn’t stand for what they think is a depiction of violence against women. Maybe people shouldn’t stand for a perjuring president. But they choose to. This is how America works, kids. If enough people band to gether against David Duke, he dis appears (for a couple of years). But, as the Republicans learned recently, you can’t force outrage. Public sentiment didn’t force Mays and Rosser to take down their doll; Tulane’s rules couldn’t force Mays and Rosser to take down their doll. So the administration suffo cated them with an all-purpose sexual-harassment conviction that isn't going to look so great on their transcripts in a couple of years, and we can all sleep a little more soundly in our beds tonight because one more inflatable doll is off the streets. Also troubling is Attebury’s assessment that Tulane’s policy on sexual harassment “[allows] a hos tile environment to exist for over half the people that live on cam pus.” Not only do the sex police insist that they knew what the two men were thinking when they erected the doll (rape) - now they think that they know what all women are feeling when they see it (fear). If I’m truly afraid of a man on campus. I’ll call the TUPD, But when toy dolls are concerned, I think I’ll just take my chances(especially when they’re bound and gagged). I don’t need the Tulane ad ministration to protect me from the lewd thoughts of the big, bad men on campus. Count me out. And, as for the doll, perhaps Housing and Residence Life should consider a general rule against pub lic displays. Many condominium complexes have rules against out side decorations because they are disruptive. My orange Halloween lights may be kitschy to me but annoying to you. If Housing and Residence Life does not want to decide these issues on a case-by-case basis, and Tulane students prove to be so sen sitive that they cannot concentrate on their studies because of a few feet of inflated plastic, then maybe there should be such a rule. But college dorms are not upscale con dos, and there is a certain delight to be taken in the many different ways in which students choose to express themselves publicly., Most of us don’t mind put ting up with a plastic doll to enjoy this laissez-faire atmosphere. Perhaps Mays and Rosser, if they're not too busy with the defa mation of character suits that they should be filing against the univer sity (because basically they ’ ve been publicly convicted of thinking about raping people), should allege sexual harassment themselves. After all, if they were girls, they would have gotten away with the doll. Elon Bubble leaks Joe Inconspicuous Man at Large Although college relations officials have yet to release a public statement, students recently re ceived a notice in their campus boxes stating the Elon Bubble is leaking. The exact location of the tear rernains unknown, but sources say physical plant has been dispatched to patch the puncture. Officials close to the investi gation said they became concerned after they received several reports of the putrid smell of cruel reality seeping in and sweet Elon idealism creeping out. “I saw these people out in Burlington who smelled like rotten butter and weren’t even wearing Old Navy clothes—what’s the deal with that?” said one disillusioned student victimized by the leak. Another student is said to have sighted some foreign beings. “There were these people all who looked like they fell asleep in tanning booths. Their skin was re ally dark. I asked someone about it and they said they were ‘black people.’ I wanted to know why I had never seen so many on cam pus,” said another student. “I saw people without jobs or internships. Did they piss off their department chair or something? Why didn’t they get placed?” said junior Mojo Jojo. The Pendulum has received copies of some of the outside world reports. In them, police and city government officials report record sales of green dye fertilizer, mas sive brick structures mysteriously cropping up and the faint glint of optimism being seen in more than one person’s eyes. The letters students received stated college officials would at tempt to “minimize” reparation costs to the real world, and that tuition costs would likely rise as a result. In an attempt to repair the damage, three plans are being con sidered. The first plan involves rais ing the tutition for no reason. The second would be sending in groups of students by the bus load to experience what it’s like in the real world, or in this case, Burlyworld. The third plan would be to get physical plant to reseal the Elon bubble. They would spackle the tear shut and then turn Fonville Foun tain into a giant caulking gun to finish the job. ANMOUIUeiMC THE nicw MCMU AT I.ITTI.C eACSAR'S FOUR GREAT NEW IT 1^" LARGE P/ZZ4...SAME IT TO ENJOY. TAS HOOSE FROM: S BEfiDRE BUT NOW MORE OF nVFN RAKED S/PBWTCHES PREPARED ON FRESHLY MADE BUNS AND BAKED IN OUR OVENS. CHOOSE FROM MEATS^i^lifeSUPREME. ITALIAN CHEESE ^/?£4£)...FRE MELTED CHEESES, SEASONE PIZZA BY THE SLICE...A WHOL PICK-UP SPECIAL MEDIUM CHEESE PIZZA $5.99 ADDITIONAL TOPPING .99 EXPIRES S9099 WITH A BLEND OF SPICES. F A 12" PIZZA. ONE SLICE WITH AN ORDER OF CRAZY BREAD $2.49 EXPIRES 2/28^
Elon University Student Newspaper
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April 1, 1999, edition 1
11
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