Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / Sept. 21, 2011, edition 1 / Page 11
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THE PENDULUM ft * WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 21, 2011 // PAGE 11 j; Opinion Redefining Not on our Campus for tlie modern age What was once a call for segregation is now a motto of tolerance In the 1950s, the phrase Not on our Campus meant something completely different than it does now. Then, black students attending predominantly white institutions faced harsh opposition and violence in forging an equal opportunity to receive education. Although the Brown v. Board of Education case declared that segregated schools were unconstitutional in 1954, the transition of desegregating the classrooms was met with a lot of resistance and roadblocks. Back in the day. Not on our Campus meant no to black people and yes to separate but equal. But Neima Abdulahi Columnist it took the courage of black students to make that extraordinary difference for generations to come. Elon University has its own unique black history. In 1963, a brave woman by the name of Glenda Phillips walked on the Elon campus as the first full-time black student. Eugene Perry was the first black student to graduate from Elon College in 1969. Phillips and Perry were able to break the racial barrier at Elon at a time when many white people across the country were expressing their disinterest for desegregation. Breaking that barrier on campus did not mean shattering racism. A few weeks ago, two incidents on Elon’s campus brought feelings of discomfort and distaste to the entire Elon community, widening the gap of racial misunderstanding. On Sept. 7, white males driving in a BMW called a black student, who was crossing the street at night, the N-word. Two days later, the same racial slur was said to another black student. This time, it was a white male in a white truck. Sadly, these two incidents may only be a small percentage of the racial discriminations that occur on campus. The only difference is that these two were reported. But something good actually came out of these disgraceful incidents. Thanks to the students who reported the cases, Elon started the Not on our Campus campaign, which expresses a common commitment toward inclusion and respect for one another. This message is extremely appropriate, considering the incoming Class of 2015 is the most diverse class in Elon's history. For a university promising to have an unprecedented commitment to diversity, the Not on our Campus stickers, discussions and discussion boards are a good first step. What comes next will help determine if the campus climate has the ability to change for the better — free of discrimination once and for all. Now that’s something Phillips and Perry would be proud to witness. So long lockout, hello to the season we nearly missed Ashley Jobe Columnist The National Football League lets people around the United States relish in a physically rigorous sport from the comfort of their own homes. And every year, men who have trained their entire lives to make their NFL debut are let down when they don’t make the cut. And yet, it is the fans who practice couch-sitting and victory dances who would have probably felt the sting of emotional devastation most acutely if had they been denied the chance to don their favorite jerseys during their team's television debuts. The NFL lockout broke hearts and it was hardly just the die-hard fans who held their breath for the duration of those 130 days. For the first time, ESPN was rattled by minute-to-minute updates that overshadowed other sports that took place during the summer, probably aggravating viewers who just wanted to see last night’s big MLB plays. The period between March 11 and July 25 was about preparing for the worst. In Maryland, approximately $40 million dollars of revenue would have been a distant dream if the Baltimore Ravens and Washington Redskins didn t hold their home games. The economic fallout there and in other states could have been catastrophic in what has already proved to be trying times. For 18 weeks and four days, we weren’t quite sure if one of America’s most celebrated and cherished pastimes would once again grace our living room TV screens and give us reason to band together to support our teams. It goes without saying that those uncomfortable weeks were felt not only by fans, but players also. They were facing unemployment in a job field that was already both incredibly difficult to penetrate and challenging to remain valuable in for more than an average of four to five years in most positions. The lockout could have robbed any one of us from the process of digesting the spewed expert analysis that occurred every morning and evening about the potential of players, mainly because we didn’t actually know if they would play. We missed out on a vital part of the excitement in the selection process of the athletes. We wanted to be filled with the expected eagerness — instead, the lockout held our insides twisted in a vice grip as we anticipated either the fulfillment or denial of what we hoped. This is a sport where people buy only the finest team T-shirts for their little ones and record games like they would if their own family member was on the roster. This is a sport where fantasy leagues have the power to make or break friendships, where everyone can be an expert and where knowledge of statistics makes you the king of conversation at the dining room table. Above all else, professional football in the United States is a relationship, one that I am glad to see heading out for another date. NBC’s Sunday Night Football Premieres 2011 Dallas Cowboys v. New York Jets 25.8 million viewers 2010 Cowboys V. Washington Redskins 25.3 million viewers 2009 Chicago Bears v. Green Bay Packers 21.1 million viewers Data courtesy of Adweek Photo courtesy of MOT Campus Tuniny in and loyyiny on to a now cultural fac6 of fominism Female actresses, characters, themes dominate fall TV lineup —n Viac tn Iparn how to balance her ambition with he Zachary Horner Columnist When looking at this season's fall TV lineup, one cultural trend is incredibly clear: women rule. Since the start of the most recent feminist movement in the 1970s, it has been common for female-led shows to dominate their timeslots, both critically and in viewership. “United States of Tara," starring Toni Collette, “The Good Wife,” starring Julianna Margulies and “Parks and Recreation” starring Amy Poehler and many others all feature actresses in powerful roles working to get something accomplished. other shows, like “Law and Order: SVU show women stepping beyond the gender line and making a difference in a job traditionally occupied by men. , , New shows this season are also capitalizing on the “girls rule” idea, like NEC’s “Are You There, Vodka? It’s Me, Chelsea" with Laura Prepon starring as Chelsea Newman, an outspoken bartender. Similarly, ABC is bringing back “Charlie s Angels” and continuing the theme of butt-kicking females with “Missing,” a show starring Ashley Judd as a former CIA agent tracking dowii her son who has gone missing years after her husband s PHOTO COUPrTESY OF MCT CAMPUS Sunday, Julianna Margulies won an Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series. On “The Good WHe,” she plays an empowered Chicago lawyer starting fresh after her prominent husband's political scandal. suspicious death. On a different thread, the CW is launching “Heart of Dixie,” with Rachel Bilson starring as a hot shot New York doctor who inherits a medical practice in a small Alabama town and has to learn how to balance her ambition with her compassion for treating patients. But it’s not just female-dominated plots coming to screens this year. Another common storyline is men trying to keep up with the rise of leading women in their home lives and in society. On CBS, David Hornsby stars as a magazine editor who needs to become more manly or he will lose his job in “How to Be a Gentleman.” On ABC, Tim Allen plays a dad trying to assert his manhood in “Last Man Standing.” ABC is going all in on this theme, because it also has “Man Up,” in which three men try to figure out how to survive as a modern man, and “Work It,” where two men turn to cross-dressing to find work as pharmaceutical salespeople and discover what it really means to be a man in the process. But all of this has justification in the real world. A 2009 report from the Families and Work Institute shows that by 2016, women will earn 60 percent of the bachelor’s degrees, 63 percent of the master’s degrees and 54 percent of doctoral degrees in America. To put that in perspective, in the 1970-71 school year, men earned 94 percent of all degrees. In the preview for “Work It," this phenomenon is referred to as the “mancession." And as times change, television changes along with it. The only question is, how will audiences react? Yes, the report confirmed that people are less likely to agree that men should earn income while women stay at home with children, but will this modern perspective bring high viewership? Only time will tell.
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