Michael Wilt’s column about The Hustler’s opinion section raises a number of interesting points. Certainly to attack a writer behind a cloak of anonymity is a fairly cowardly act, and in the best of all possible worlds, those wishing to castigate a columnist would choose to do so in the form of a letter to the editor.
Columnists feel strongly enough about their views that they put their reputations on the line, and those wishing to express disagreement should do the same. “The Rant,” however, is the Wild West of the opinion page, and shall remain untouched in all of its anarchic glory. In other words, submit rants. Submit tons of rants and hilarious one-liners. Consider first, however, whether your ideas would be better served in the form of a letter.
On another note, Wilt is correct to note that plenty of opinion columnists write about matters he deems frivolous. We disagree, however, when he states columns not concerning themselves with politics or current events reflect poorly on the quality of our university. The role of the opinion page is to facilitate discussion on issues mattering most to Vanderbilt students, and we can determine what matters to Vanderbilt students by following carefully the submissions received. Why shouldn’t Vanderbilt students care about housing, The Commons or tuition? All of these issues affect the average Vanderbilt student on a daily basis more than speculation about Iran’s current intentions and the machinations of liberal B-list celebrities.
Any student opinion writer inevitably must face the realization that by writing about topics well covered by the professional media, he will most likely add little, if anything, to the debate. Focusing on campus issues, however, ensures continual renewal of content and generation of fresh insights, insights which have not been drummed into everyone’s heads by constant repetition. Student opinion shines when it discusses matters directly affecting students, not when it repeats arguments already presented in national outlets.
If opinion columnists wish to focus on national and international issues, then by all means let them do so. But they must remember those writing about “drunken stories, or how neat my trip to the hairdresser was or why I think popping your collar is really not such a bad thing” frequently address more than they appear to be.
Of course, there is quite a
Of course, there is quite a difference between discussing tuition, housing, and The Commons, and the other sorts of topics I mentioned and which were mentioned in this editorial (the drunken stories, hairdresser trips, popped collars, etc.). I never said that those weren't important topics on which to opine, but rather that they weren't the only topics that should be under discussion by the opinion section.
If this editorial was going to live up to its title, namely that the opinion section should live up to a wide spectrum of viewpoints, then I believe we should also agree that these viewpoints should advance the cause of discussion and intellectualism at Vanderbilt regardless of the topic. This is why I pointed to The Harvard Crimson as an example of a college, student-run newspaper that frequently discusses issues of national importance, while also quite often throwing in an article about important issues on their campus. I think that balance can be achieved.
Also, not to sound facetious, but the war in Iraq and such do affect a lot of people. The economy affects everyone. National issues affects everyone. Obviously there should be a balance between campus issues and national issues - I agree with this. But to say one trumps the other in terms of its affect on the lives of the collective student body is profoundly naively.
I can guarantee you for every one person you find upset about housing next year I can find another person who is equally as upset about the war in Iraq.
Any op-ed page, including
Any op-ed page, including that of the New York Times, seeks to balance coverage of serious political issues with pieces of a more light-hearted nature. That's the way it should be. I think we agree on this point.
However, writing about national political issues is a difficult thing to do in a college paper because, as the editorial rightly points out, college students rarely have any original thoughts to bring to the table and are often misinformed. Just as one recent example, consider this opinion piece from February:
http://www.insidevandy.com/drupal/node/3319
In it, the writer goes on a rant against protectionism but refers to it erroneously as "fair trade" throughout the article. That would be pretty funny in itself, but it gets better when you realize the premise of the article is that the term "fair trade" is a misleading euphemism.
College opinion writing is at its best when students write about how national social/political issues are being played out at the campus level, and I have tried to make such writing the focus of Orbis. For instance, I think the living wage movement and the Playboy controversy have inspired some of the best opinion writing on campus this year. Both are issues that could hardly be considered frivolous, and at the same time students are in a unique position to offer knowledge and insight about these issues.