Newspapers / Elon University Student Newspaper / Oct. 12, 2016, edition 1 / Page 10
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i f(l O CAMPUS VOICES WEDNESDAY OCTOBER 12, 2016 lOPINIO Elor News Network is renewing its efforts to serve as a voice of the Elen University community. Each* space will feature writing from member of the community. Want to participate? Contact us ■' ' Yes, you can register to vote in North Carolina (and you shoiil Gabriela Alvarez Senior I get it. Registering to vote is a hassle. You’re tired of being asked if you’ve reg istered (by people like me). You’re tired of your super political friends who never shut up about the election (also people like me). So why should you register to vote and especially vote here? As you may know, North Carolina is a swing state — a battleground crucial to both major candidates. North Carolina casts 15 Electoral College votes, which may not seem like much, but it’s more than 41 other states have! Now some of you are thinking, “I don’t want Donald Trump or Hillary Clinton, so I’m not voting.” But you have another option — another responsibility. And no, I’m not talking about Gary Johnson or Jill Stein. Your vote is critical in the gubernato rial, congressional and local elections, too. Care about HB2 (“the Bathroom Bill”) and LGBTQIA rights? Vote local. Care about race relations and criminal justice reform? Vote local. Want to hold your elected officials accountable? Vote local. It’s not simply your responsibility to vote — it’s your right. You are legally entitled to vote in North Carolina if you are a citizen of the United States, 18 years of age or older and have lived in North Carolina for more than 30 days by the time of the elec tion. I’m looking at you, Elon students. And it’s easy — much easier than requesting an absentee ballot, waiting for it to come in, filling it out and mailing it back. Take it from someone whose vote was voided in the 2014 midterm elections because it didn’t return home in time — voting here is much easier, much faster and much more effective than voting absentee. You can find voter registrars across from Pandora’s Pies every day until the voter re^stration deadline, which is this Friday. We’ll help you fill it out in less than two minutes and mail it in for you. Remember, this is your school, your state, your country — take pride in your vote. It matters. I/DTER REGISTRATION MYTHS 1 1’ve already requested my absentee ballot.” Did you fill it out and send it back already? Nope? Cool. As long as you don'ttrvinf in two states, you're all good. Just re-register In North Carolina - it takp? filling out a BuzzFeed quiz, I promise. 2 “I’m already registered at borne.” Awesome! But think about the normal demographics there. For exampie, if yDo^ yote for Clinton in Massachusetts or Trump in Texas, your yote is going to betnorsi ential here in North Carolina where the race could swing either way. You can re-w! to vote right here on campus. Super quick, super easy, completely legal. ^' 3 “I’m afraid this will impact my legal residency.” It definitely will not - it's assumed that your domicile (real home) is with you[| but you reside here because you’re at school. 4 “Wbat about jeopardizing my financial aid?” If you're an undergraduate who is unmarried, without children, with at least one ti» parent and you aren’t a member of the Armed Forces (not ROTC], your parents’air will remain your legal residence with no effect on your financial aid. 5 “Can my parents still claim me as a dependent on their taxesiij health insurance?” Yes. If you make less than $3,500 a year and your parents pay for more than Mij living expenses and/or tuition, you can still be claimed as a dependent on your patf taxes and remain on your parents’ health Insurance. e LETTER TO THE EDITOR It’s not OK to silence oUii Dear students, faculty and staff, The members of Elon University’s EF FECT organization have raised important questions in response to / hope you weeks appearance SpprCCidtO syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker, who the serious delivered the Baird approach of PuUtzer Prize lecture, the students Her remarks sparked who stopped significant debate on up to the campus about topics microphone. as free speech. crophone to voice their knowledge, perspec tives and beliefs on the significant problem of sexual violence, as well as the importance of respecting members of our community who hold conservative points of view. Those comments took courage and are an impressive example of our students’ skills and willingness to engage in difficult dialogue. I commend those who engaged in these important conversations — this is Cassidy Levy Columnist @casl117 intellectual discourse, sexual violence, vic tim-blaming, gender/sex discrimination and other issues. To be dear, Elon stands against acts of violence or discrimination toward any person or group. Elon brings accomplished speakers to campus to challenge us to think deeply and critically about important issues of our time. We do not attempt to bring only speak ers who conform to particular viewpoints or ideologies, but instead seek out diverse perspectives. No matter what the viewpoints of the speakers, we hope the discussion is thought ful and serious, creating opportunities for learning and personal growth. Much of the debate this week has been about whether Parker met those standards. Some students felt she did not engage in a serious dialogue with those who sought to question her book and columns. Others questioned the depth and fairness of her critique of this years presidential candi dates and the issues in this year’s campaign. Personally, I believe those are fair critiques of her lecture. Others may disagree. No matter how you feel about the lecture, I hope you appreciate the serious approach of the students who stepped up to the mi EACH ONE OF US IN THIS COMMUNITY MUST WORK EVERY DAY TO ENSURE A CAMPUS CULTURE IN WHICH ACTS OF VIOLENCE ARE NOT TOLERATED, AND VICTIMS ARE FULLY SUPPORTED. a sign of the intellectual vitality of the Elon community. In regard to the specific question about Elon’s position on sexual violence. I want to reaffirm we hold student safety dearly and are unwavering in our efforts to prevent sexual violence and provide support to survivors. Each one of us in this community must work every day to ensure a campus culture in which acts of violence are not tolerated, and victims are fully supported and never blamed. Ragards, Smith Jackson Vice President for Student Life Dean of Students There’s been a lot of talk about free speech on campus from responses to Kathleen Parker’s visit to conservative stu dents feeling unable to voice their opin ions. One of the topics that often comes up in these discussions is the idea of polit ical correctness and its role in campus discussions. There are people who see the call for increased political correctness to be a hinderance of free speech, I can see where they’re coming from, but I see political correctness as an extension of polite behavior. We refer to our professors and admin istrators by their hard earned titles unless they tell us otherwise. In the same sense, we should strive to use political correctness as a way to show respect during dialogue. It is the polite thing to do in conversa tions in the same way you might choose not to swear or shout when you’re trying to have a meaningful dialogue with people of differing opinions. It also goes beyond respecting your conversation partners to respecting the people you are talking about. Where I start to have a problem with political correctness is in the often-harsh response to people who don’t use the polit ically correct terms. It is those responses that play a role in silencing discussion on campus and polarizing views on political correctness. In order for there to be intellectual and personal growth, all students need to feel like they are able to voice their opinions, even if it is unpopular or worded in a way that others may find offensive. Yes, it can be painful or uncomfortable 3 ntft P0LirU/)L CoRW H WifTi lou rLTT'||M)t SllWUfi ^fTvTi JMWIP- to hear something you disagree will: terms you don’t feel should be used attacking the person who said them* move the conversation forward, Just because someone doesn’t thing that is politically correct does: mean their opinion is invalid. Even if you are the most stringeE believer in political correctness, itk important to remember that notevei, shares your knowledge and opiniM' issues. You will have a hard timeeik^- in true and open dialogue ifyousk’ down because of that. ^ I know that I can be quick to assumptions about people based on® use of politically correct language^’; thereof. But we all need to dobetteif; respecting each other so we can mf'l the words we are using to focus on®! ideas we want to discuss. ■ Nobody should feel silenced bys| of sounding to politically correct rect. I think that political correclnf^i. important in meaningful discourse.! it’s counterproductive to ignore opf^ opinions just because they dontuse- terminology.
Elon University Student Newspaper
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Oct. 12, 2016, edition 1
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