Writing a column is a challenge. The column is one of the hardest kinds of articles written in a newspaper.
They have to be tactful, yet express an opinion. But, no matter how they're written, they are a privilege. Not a right, but a PRIVILEGE.
There have been a series of columns in particular that have not been anything remotely close to what I'd consider good or valid journalism. They are, for lack of a better term, filth. Pure shock and awe. Meant for you, the reader, to get mentally (or in this case, sexually) stimulated. In this writer's case, it does neither.
This is not a personal attack: she is a fellow colleague at The Spectrum and she has worked damn hard to be there. This is, however, an attack on her ideals, her writing, and if in fact there is any shred of personal experience put into her columns, then her way of life as well.
In her most recent article, "Swiping the V-Card," she targets a specific group of people. Some of these people are the most self-respecting, upstanding students here on campus, and instead of labeling them as such, she sinks to trite name-calling (Nerd). I'll apologize on their behalf for coming to college and wanting to come out with a working knowledge of their field. But I digress.
She proceeds with an anecdote. A story of a love-torn sophomore in the midst of love making only to find himself on the receiving end of a young female's gastrointestinal cocktail. But surely there must be a meaning behind this tale of woe? There is: she was "too tight." Following that logic – "a girl who's too tight will vomit on your chest" – ergo perhaps those who have yet to let someone "put their package in your mailbox," as it was eloquently stated, will not make for the best sexual partners.
Analysis aside, there is more to be said. She requests her readers "get that V-card swiped like you would your credit card at a Jeffrey Campbell shoe sale," before tacking on the warning that too many partners is not socially acceptable. At her whim, reader, it is time to lose what can never be recovered. It is time to give yourself, uninhibited, to those who you desire. I confess, maybe it's me. Not in some higher-than-thou way, but perhaps my current place in the social hierarchy (some might refer to me as a "nerd") won't let me see beyond this veil. Sex is a subject to be discussed, I admit, but if it should be sent out to the masses then let there be some oversight to it. Don't blindly encourage behavior you consider acceptable, merely express an opinion that others may not – and in some cases, will not – have heard before.
Sex columns often do have a place in a college newspaper, and anyone who claims otherwise is uninformed. However, to write something that encourages a lifestyle that is only shown in films and pass it off as reality is absolutely unprofessional and has no place in the public domain.
In the end, as journalists, all we have is our words, so choose carefully.
Email: nicolas.pino@ubspectrum.com
