Category: Opinion

By Jasmine King

Writer

The biggest controversy of the weekend: race in the blockbuster hit “The Hunger Games.” Almost 10 days after the movie premiered, it is obviously something bold and different that this topic is still buzzing. Suzanne Collins, the author, describes each of the characters with such precision that it wasn’t difficult for directors to place people who look similar to the characters in those roles. Being true to the entire story is not something that movie adaptations are notorious for. Instead, they find the most fitting actors for their vision of how the story will play out. Skin color should not have an effect on how the audience feels about their characters. Sad to say, though, this is not the case. Audience members are outraged by the fact that Thresh and Rue are dark-skinned. One anonymous tweeter even went as far as to say, “Kk call me a racist but when I found out rue was black her death wasn’t as sad. #ihatemyself.”  This sentiment, I am guessing, comes from the fact that in the book, Suzanne Collins’ describes that Katniss has such a connection with Rue because Rue resembles Katniss’s little sister, Primrose.

But the racism gets worse; it bothers me more that the two African-American characters are from District 11–the poor agriculture district. Which is an interesting point in itself to the fact that Suzanne Collin’s herself confirmed that District 11 is located in the “Deep South.” In further investigation of District 11, the inhabitants of District 11 are described as having “dark skin and dark hair.” The most disturbing action comes with the fact that if any person in District 11 was caught stealing crops, that person would be publicly whipped, which happened often. I am sure that I’m not the only one who connected this with slavery. I am honestly not sure if Suzanne Collins was trying to say that our country will go back to its dark days of enslaving human beings or whether District 11 was located in the Deep South because it is the best place to grow crops and she is generalizing that dark skinned people happen to live there. But, if only for the reason that I love Suzanne Collins’ writing, I will say it is the latter.

These two controversies over race should not occur. The color of someone’s skin should not determine the merit of their acting, but the fact that Rue is dark skinned is overshadowing any thought about how well the actress played that role. And to end on this note about the race controversy in general, we, as Americans, say that we are past slavery, but we cannot say that we are past prejudices.

By Josh Haywood

Writer

Words cannot possibly describe my fury over what happened to Trayvon Martin. The most depressing fact is that this happened over month ago and Zimmerman remains free, charged with no crime. Protests have erupted all over the nation calling for justice to be brought to the Martin family. This crime only illuminates the issue of racial profiling and injustice that exists in the county. If Trayvon had “fit” the profile of the neighborhood he would have never been noticed. As for racial injustice I know damn well if the roles had been reversed and the person who was killed would have been white that the courts would have had a field day throwing the book at the shooter.

Why hasn’t anything been done about the case? The Sanford police have done nothing and have offered little as to the progress of the investigation. Meanwhile, a grassroots movement has sprung up seeking to have Zimmerman arrested. The reason nothing has been done is due to Florida’s unique modification of the “castle doctrine” law, called the Stand Your Ground law, which allows citizens to use force, in this case a gun, to “prevent imminent death or great bodily harm to himself or herself or another.” Under this law according to Zimmerman’s account of the incident, he was in the right. 

I really doubt a grown man was beaten up so badly by a 17-year-old adolescent that he needed to shoot the child to save his own life. The worst thing about the case is that unless someone comes forward or other evidence is presented stating otherwise, Zimmerman will more than likely walk free. Zimmerman is the only one that really knows what happened that fateful February day. The only fact in the case is that Trayvon Miller is dead: resting in a casket full of family memories and crushed dreams. It’s just disturbing that justice might possibly never be served for this youth struck down in his prime.

Rest in peace, Trayvon.

By Josh Haywood

Writer

The U.S. education system needs to restore its integrity and capability to produce a strong workforce, which in recent decades has faded. There are three definite issues in need of reform: the emphasis on standardized testing, forced education of irrelevant material and the ease of access to charter schools. All of these things are what hold our industrious nation from reaching the levels of achievement it had in the post-World War II era.

The issue of how much weight should be placed on standardized testing is far too great as it changes the role of education from actual learning and focuses on rote memorization. Standardized testing just forces teachers to meet standard requirements, whether the information is relevant or not. Why do we waste time and tax dollars trying to make a one-size-fits-all education system?  The world does not, and should not, work like this. Standardized testing does not measure a student’s creativity or innate knowledge of the world. I witnessed the negative effects that standardized testing brought on my class when 130 out of the 300 people didn’t receive their diploma as a result of failure to pass their 10th grade standardized test. I saw some great friends miss the chance to walk across stage with a diploma over a test that should in no way serve as a determinant for employment. 

Some people want to be a mechanic or a hairdresser, so why are we trying to teach them Shakespeare? Teach students what they want to learn. Do not force-feed them nonsense information they will never use. Our fill-in-the-bubble educational system ignorantly ignores the fact that, putting all other things aside, certain people end up going into a blue-collar profession. Let students choose what they want to learn, because it will de-emphasize the lack of respect school systems put on trade skills and provide support for those students who want to enter such trades. There is nothing wrong with being a blue-collar worker; they are the people who built America. From the steel high-rises of major cities to the highway system that pumps the economy’s blood, skilled workers have built this country. Too much emphasis is placed on going to college, and such focus acts as a depressant for those who do not want to attain higher education.

For anyone that does not know about charter schools, they are essentially privately run schools who get public assistance. These do not resemble that of Kent or Hotchkiss. These schools are designed for students who have failed at traditional public schools. The major problem with charter schools is that while they are publicly funded, they do not have to adhere to the curriculum guidelines of public schools. These essentially are graduation factories that churn out “degrees” that are worthless due to the dissimilarity between various charter schools and thus, possess no known value. Educational guidelines act as a set of loose state curriculum requirements that each school can hand pick to teach depending on what the school district sees as important. This is different from standardized testing because it is a set of information that the state seeks to test students on to make sure the teachers are able to complete their job. The issue is that standardized testing does not look at other knowledge possessed by students, such as trade knowledge, which is impossible to test for on a state level.

We need to continue our domination of world industry, and education is the key. Give students more variety when it comes to high school education because it will allow them to focus on fields that best suit their own abilities. Scale back how much we rely on standardized testing and eliminate these “cop out” charter schools that just waste money that could be used on education somewhere else. There is nothing wrong with trying to prime students for college, but you also need to remember that students need to fulfill their own dreams, not someone else’s.

By Jennifer Mok

Writer

Invisible Children, an organization dedicated to stop Joseph Kony and support those affected by the war in East and Central Africa, has caused quite a stir due to its Kony 2012 movement. While many, including myself, were quick to jump into the general sentiment of hope and excitement for change, others were skeptical. Unsure of the reason behind the growing number of hesitant individuals, I decided to step back from the hype and examine the event and organization with a more critical point of view. The results? Not so great.

If you own a Facebook account, you have most likely seen the inspirational film promoting Kony 2012. Whether or not you have actually watched the video floating around on your newsfeed, you probably have at least heard of its existence. Using easy-access tools such as YouTube and Facebook, people have spread this video and its motive with much success. There is no doubt that this 30-minute video has greatly influenced the public sentiment in a short period of time. The film was designed to be informative, tear-jerking, inspiring and easy to digest. Viewers were left informed about the atrocities occurring in Uganda and motivated to make a change. The video created this feeling of great ability: that everyone was able to contribute in one way or another. The film asks viewers to participate in the event by donating and sharing the film with as many people as possible. Many opted to contribute by using their precious time to perform the meaningful push of a “share” button.

I do not wish to undermine neither the efforts nor the intentions of Invisible Children. However, I feel this approach is highly ineffective as it provides people with an easy way out. Simply reposting a video and sharing articles and images on a matter of such great importance is simply not enough. What Invisible Children has started is not an actual, substantial act but rather a virtual illusion of action and a powerful sentiment.

This is the main problem and center of controversy surrounding Invisible Children. The non-profit organization focuses much on raising awareness on the war and the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA). The profits made from their merchandise and donations are used to create films such as “Kony 2012.” But not even 40 percent of their profits are directed toward supplies and support for the people of Uganda. This means that a whopping 60 percent is distributed to employees, offices and filmmaking. I don’t know about you, but that doesn’t sit right with me.

A movement with the purpose to help others should do much more than just raise awareness. Children are able to raise awareness by simple acts of speech, poster making and fundraisers. Why should I buy a customized kit designed to promote the need to arrest Joseph Kony, yet utilized as profit for a group of individuals who are incapable of handling money in a more well-constructed manner? Also, in sharing of these posters, bracelets, handouts and other products branded by Invisible Children, the focus shifts from the criminal acts of Joseph Kony to the organization.

I even found myself thinking how wonderful, perhaps even heroic, Invisible Children seemed for its forward approaches. This cause and effort should be inspiring others not to join and applaud the group, but to educate one another and create effective ways to not only halt the activities of Joseph Kony, but also help survivors and those suffering because of this injustice.

I partially blame our generation’s craving for hype, creativity, forward thinking and need for cause of unity for the outcomes of this event. We are often so swept up by an emotional fever of heroism that the feeling of ability and empowerment makes us forget the core of the undertaking. We begin to live in this frenzy of elated, high optimism.

Invisible Children has done a fantastic job in raising awareness. Now, to actually make a difference, it is our job to use the knowledge given to us and turn it into action. Raise money and donate to the African Militia, write to the politicians–those for and against American involvement–contact survivors, reach out to affected communities and do something other than point out a problem. You can make a difference, but emphasizing the existence of an issue is not the proper–or effective–way of doing so.

By Sarah Morris

Writer

Over the past few months of writing for The Bucknellian I have realized something very important about humans: they will take anything you say and change it in order to understand it better, even if that makes their understanding inaccurate. I am actually a bit dumbfounded that it isn’t something that I noticed before this year. I guess we all recognize it subconsciously, but to have it thrown in your face is a completely different situation.

The funny thing is, this happens to writers all the time. Most people have probably mistaken a phrase or quote from a famous passage as meaning something completely opposite from the original meaning. This is where we English majors get to have a good laugh at the rest of you. Being an English major allows me the beautiful opportunity of being told that I’ll never get a job, that my major is pointless and that there’s nothing that I can really do with my major. The people who say this are not only wrong, but they are also usually the ones who make these literary faux pas in the first place.

Now I know you’re thinking that there is not really one scenario in which we could actually feel so great about correcting someone about their knowledge in the field of literary excellence (which we love to do, by the way, at every opportunity), but there is one specific instance that always makes me laugh: tattoos. I absolutely love it when I see someone with a very well-known quote etched onto his or her body, with a seemingly important and valuable meaning in mind, and they are completely wrong. My absolute favorite is the quote “This above all: to thine own self be true” from Shakespeare’s “Hamlet.” The line is a quote from Polonius, a wretched old man who is telling his son not to be original and unique as those with the tattoos might say, but rather is telling his son to always perform in his best interests before those of others. The fact alone that so many people have this tattoo contradicts the very reason they are probably getting it to begin with.

My second favorite quote is from Emerson’s poem “Hamatreya” and the line I speak of is quoted as: “The earth laughs in flowers.” Most people see this and think it would be cute to get this tattooed around their ankle or on their shoulder next to a small flower, but the actual message of the line describes the earth laughing at all of the people who die to create the flowers that come out of the earth. The earth isn’t having some happy-go-lucky time in the open air; the earth is making fun of those who use her and then are used themselves once they die.

I suppose there are two main points to my rant. The first is that you really should look deeper into the ideas that you tattoo your body with permanently so that you do not look like a jerk to everyone who is educated. The second is to read all literature, newspaper articles, magazine clippings and all other writings much more closely. If you want to consider yourself an educated and logical person, you must take into account that a writer might have meant something that you do not realize the first time through.

Sarah Morris

Writer

Those who walk the path of drug use have a very thin line to keep track of. It is incredibly easy for people to slip into patterns of negativity associated with drug abuse, and I think a lot of young people that have never seen these effects firsthand do not fully understand the consequences of their actions. While growing up awkwardly in the suburbs of Atlanta, my mom caught me sneaking out of the house and said, “There’s only so much you can do until you succumb to peer pressure.” I hold this to be very true. I think it is important that kids grow up, break some rules, learn from their mistakes and get on with their lives. However, so many people do not understand that getting on with your life after suffering from drug abuse is not a choice you get to make to end it; a drug addiction is more than physical, it is mental. And it is extremely difficult for abusers to move on mentally after quitting, especially if their peers are users as well.

I am not talking about drinking with your friends, or even smoking marijuana at a young age. For the majority of people, such actions do not manifest into larger issues. But for some, they can be gateways into hard drug use. I know that the term “gateway drug” conjures images of the eighth grade lecture delivered by your P.E. teacher, but once you’ve seen people delve into drug use, you can actually understand how easy it is to slip from one substance to another. Drugs are becoming easier and cheaper to get and have a very social connotation to them.

As fun as experimentation can be, children need to stay as far away as they can from hard drugs like cocaine, methamphetamines, heroine, Percocet, Vicodin and nitrous. These kinds of drugs alter the way you behave and function in your daily life. The truth that needs to be realized is that you won’t have better or cooler friends because you do hard drugs and you won’t even have real friends if you do; you will just have a bunch of junkies to keep you company while you get high on the weekends.

It is true that not everybody has an addictive personality. Not everyone will take cocaine once and be hooked immediately, but I have seen it happen to people I love. You will never know if you are the type of person who will get addicted until you actually try it. Drug abuse is all so glamorous now. It always has been, but we cannot allow ourselves to romanticize such a dark habit. I had best friends in high school with severe cocaine addictions. They stole from their parents and friends, they lied to everyone around them, and the worst part was, they could not stop. It was not their choice anymore as the drugs were making decisions for them. The drugs were ruining their lives.

It seems like something so silly and easy to do just one time, but the truth is, addiction can fall onto anyone. I’ve seen drugs hurt loved ones and ruin relationships. People have to understand that drug abuse is not a romantic place to explore. It will not make you a deeper or more interesting person. It might tear you away from the people you love. I have seen it first-hand, and I know how horrible it can be. Just testing the waters might lead you into a place you never thought you would enter, and I do not think even risking that is worth it for a minute.

Jasmine King

Contributing Writer