I have become increasingly tired of the ignorance shown by the Daily Campus. On April 20, 2009, I was reading an article by Kevin Duffy titled "Chris Brown's New (Old) Girlfriend." It was about how Chris Brown, now notorious for his beating of ex-girlfriend Rihanna, is now dating another of his exes. I was appalled to see some of the remarks Duffy made about Brown's new dating situation, stating that he would "like to applaud Brown for this remarkable accomplishment" and questioned new girlfriend Erica Jackson's logic in dating Brown, when she could be dating someone like Usher who has "...rock-hard abs and a reputation for treating women with average to above-average respect."
First of all, Duffy is a sports writer. He has no place in determining what is best for women, especially ones he does not know. And to say that Jackson deserves "average to above-average respect" is perhaps a sign that he thinks all women should be treated this way. I wonder if he would like to be treated averagely by his partner and feel any sense of being content. Duffy has somehow become the main writer about the ordeal surrounding Brown and Rihanna, and never once has he mentioned the mental and emotional battles abused women and men go through in these situations. He does, however, talk about his adoration for Rihanna and her beauty, demonstrating his keen ability to judge people from the surface.
Even more disheartening are the comments posted about it online, that include "Rihanna is a cunt," "leave Chris Brown alone," and "If Chris Brown let Rihanna beat him up he'd be a sissy." Rihanna was a victim of assault by someone she loved. That is something that will hurt and strain her for an endless amount of time. To call her a derogatory and misogynist term for being abused is simply unacceptable and I cannot understand how the post could be written by a woman, who I would assume has some respect for herself and for other women as well.
The fact that people are defending Chris Brown for fighting back against Rihanna seems to indicate that those people believe it is acceptable for a man to assault a woman if she becomes physical. Brown is clearly stronger than Rihanna, and there is no way he could not simply hold her back or use his words instead of resorting to physical violence. The fact that people would call him a sissy for doing such exhibits our fear of breaking traditional gender roles in this country.
Then, on April 23, the cover page was about Earth Day (just like the previous issue) and even included students who were out drinking the previous night, which turned out to be one of two pictures of the same yearly event. It was also the issue after Take Back the Night. As an attendee and volunteer for the event, I, along with many students, faculty, and families of victims and organizers, was personally moved by the stories of survivors and the huge march through campus that included a great deal of men. But the next day, you would never know just how successful the night was because the only picture the Campus had to show for the it was a picture of the a cappella group A Minor performing at the beginning presentation of speakers. There was an article following that did not do the event justice, and of course an InstantDaily insulting feminists. What we did that night was spread the word that sexual assault, rape, and the condemnation and objectification of women is an atrocity.
The fact that after 20 years we still even have to have this protest because so many women are being raped and assaulted every year is truly astounding. Many women came out of their dorms to stand and watch us, a sign of hope and power to all of those marching that they too understand what we are fighting for. I wonder how many people actually know that 1 in 4 college women will be sexually assaulted and that the recovery process can take almost a lifetime.
Men somehow believe they have the rights to beep at women while driving on and around campus or shouting obscenities toward them then simply laugh it off. What they do not understand is that that is sexual harassment, it is despicable, and it causes many women to feel not only anger but a true sense of vulnerability and weakness thatthey are obvious victims of manifestation.
The worst part about all of this is that the person in charge of the paper is a woman, Editor in Chief Freesia Singngam. There are few organizations that put women in charge, and this is one of them.
Instead of promoting positive events for all minorities, she allows the paper to follow the same approach it has always followed that somehow manages to include more on sports than anything else. Letting a sports editor write senseless commentary on what women deserve, including poor coverage of possibly the biggest women's event of the year, and constantly allowing for the criticism of the advocates of her own sex make me question the compassion of Singngam.
I know that I do not stand alone in the offense I take and the frustration I feel towards the Daily Campus, and ask that future issues show more of a willingness to incorporate the ideas and feelings of everyone on this campus, not just a select few.
-Jackie Martone, 4th-semester human development and family studies major
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