While I commend Tim Basilica’s article on the Safe Space Campaign for bringing needed visibility to a cause I truly believe in, I feel as if I have been misquoted and would like to clarify a particular point.
The Safe Space Campaign is not in the habit of “counseling” as the article asserts that I have said. Its purpose is to educate faculty and staff so they may have resources and information to share with students who would find such references helpful. The word “counseling” implies a problem to be solved, as well as a degree of expertise that we as laypersons in the field of counseling would be unwise to claim.
Again, thanks for the great article and keep up the good work.
Patrick Hollis
Safe Space Coordinator
Graduate Student — Public Administration
After reading Rebekah Monson’s Off the Cuff on Tuesday, I wanted to clear up a few misconceptions. The Greek System is not a haven for the unintelligent, party-loving segment of campus. Greek organizations do have parties but not with a greater frequency than any other campus organization or the general student body.
Also, Greeks were portrayed as unintelligent and unconcerned with academics. This is simply not true. The all-Greek average GPA is greater than the all- student average GPA. Greeks inhabit a myriad of majors on this campus, including majors that Ms. Monson would consider quite challenging.
Do Greeks go to bars? Yes, but again not with a greater frequency than the average LSU student does. Do Greeks make party cups? Yes, but every student organization has its own traditions and habits. Do Greeks drive SUVs? Yes, but not all Greeks do, and the variety of cars driven by Greeks is as vast as those driven by the rest of the student population.
I realize Ms. Monson’s column was supposed to be funny, but behind every joke there is some truth, and I fear Ms. Monson’s ignorance of the Greek System has lead her to form unfair stereotypes. The Greek System is not a bunch of drunken, date-rapists; fraternities and sororities raise countless dollars for charities and spend countless hours doing community service. The Greek System is as diverse as the rest of LSU, and I think The Reveille’s columnist should try to stop perpetuating outdated myths and stereotypes for the sake of humor.
I am sure The Reveille would not have run a column using stereotypes of the Spectrum Alliance or the Muslim Student Associate for humor because that would have been in bad taste. But it is considered all right to make fun of Greeks, and columns like Ms. Monson’s perpetuate that kind of thinking. LSU students need to realize Greeks are no different than anyone else who decides to join a campus organization, and no one on campus should be stereotyped simply because he or she chooses to join a certain student organization.
Bryan Jeansonne
Senior — Political Science
After last year’s Gumbo debacle and the ensuing complaints, we feel a positive response to this year’s much improved yearbook is in order. It is evident from the well-planned layouts and the attention to color and detail that this year’s Gumbo staff went above and beyond to give the LSU students a yearbook they will be proud to hold on to. This edition reclaims The Gumbo’s place as a worthwhile part of the Student Media. Congratulations and thank you to The Gumbo staff for its time, effort and creativity.
Amanda Gustavson
Charlie Stiegler
Seniors — English
In regards to the letter in Wednesday’s Reveille concerning LSU “shafting students,” please, Mr. Beard, next time do the math. It might be 4.5 cents per seat, but let’s be realistic; after all, people working at McDonald’s are not paid per hamburger.
Two thousand dollars divided by four hours equals $500. Then divided by the approximately 50 students, that’s $10 dollars an hour — to pick up trash. Obviously, Christ the King Catholic Center wanted to “make money like so many others in this world” and decided to do so in this manner. I’m sure when they took the job they knew the shift would be late, and that the weather was going to be chilly (not “blistering cold”).
Here’s an idea: after the next game, you and all your buddies throw your trash away after the game to make the clean-up crew’s job a little easier. And the next time you want to show your concern for what you described as sweatshop labor, put your effort toward those who really need it; you know, the ones who work 20 hours a day to make your shoes and who earn in a year what Christ the King Catholic Center made in four hours.
Michael Patterson
Graduate Student — Sociology
I’m writing in response to Mr. Beard’s letter in Wednesday’s Reveille. Mr. Beard, let me start by saying how disappointed I am that you, a fellow Christian, would complain about wages received in the manner you did. In your letter, you said the group was paid $2,000 for four hours’ work by 50 or so students. You mentioned this translates into 4.5 cents per seat, but you failed to mention that it also translates into $10 an hour per student for 50 students. Even if there were 60, it would still be about $8.33 an hour per student.
In my opinion, that’s not a salary worth complaining about if you’ve only graduated from high school. You should be grateful the University was so very generous to you and your friends in your pay. I’m not saying the school does not have its problems when dealing with students and money, but that does not give us the right to make unfounded complaints against the school. I seriously doubt you, or someone in your group, were not aware of the pay you were receiving. If you didn’t like it, why did you do it?
You mentioned that if they had hired workers (I assume you mean professional, or were you implying you did not actually qualify as working) they would have paid twice as much. That may very well be so, but you’re not a professional worker. You’re a student, just like the rest of us, and being such means we are not going to get paid very much.
Do you understand the bad example you’re showing to the rest of campus, Christian and non-Christian alike? “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works and glorify God.” In other words, if you claim to be a Christian, there should be some evidence in your life to prove it. I hope anyone who read Mr. Beard’s letter would not think all other Christians act the same way as he did.
Jeffrey P. Johnson
Junior — Political Science