I had a completely different column written for today. It was a satirical piece poking fun at the platforms of a number of the Student Assembly presidential campaigns, and was probably my favorite piece I've written all year. While I am sad it will not be published, I decided to replace it with what you are reading now because I felt compelled to respond to Jacob Baron '10's most recent op-ed ("Colbert for SA President," May 8).
In these pages yesterday, Baron wrote one of the most reckless and irresponsible op-eds I have seen in a long time ("Colbert for SA President," May 8). It was one of the most egregious examples of someone misusing their position in the press for two reasons: first, because of the content of the op-ed, and second, because of its underlying message.
In the course of his piece, he wrote about all of the Student Assembly presidential candidates, but instead of engaging in thoughtful debate, Baron resorted to personal attacks. I could easily write 800 words solely about the factual inaccuracies and tenuous-at-best stretches of logic, but three passages especially stand out to me.
First, he attacked Nova Robinson '08 for not having a platform and for running a campaign on "curvaceous pictures of herself." While I do think Nova could have communicated her platform more effectively, she certainly has one, and Baron's criticism was unfounded. Additionally, it puzzles me why Baron thinks it is a bad thing that she puts her picture on her campaign posters. The fact that she is "curvaceous" is nothing she can change (nor should she have to), and for him to criticize her based on the way she looks is absolutely ludicrous (and I also noticed that he didn't evaluate the appearance of any of the male candidates).
Second, he quoted a mutual friend of ours who is a supporter of Jaromy Siporen '08 in a manner that was so malicious that he lost that person's friendship. The quote was a joke, said at a fraternity party, that Baron took out of context, presented as a serious statement and then stretched to insinuate that all of Siporen's supporters somehow only care about gaining political power. While members of the press have a certain responsibility to report on the on-goings around campus, taking a friend's joke and using it to drag them through the mud in the press is, in my mind, a major violation of journalistic ethics.
Third, and most despicably, he made fun of Raj Koganti '08 for not being a native English speaker. He wrote, "Is he mute?...Can he speak English?...the ability to answer questions effectively is a power I require of every adult with whom I interact." Instead of critiquing Koganti's platform, he resorted to nothing more than schoolyard bullying. Instead of focusing on the issues, he took cheap shots at a genuinely nice guy, who cares deeply about Dartmouth, simply because he has an accent.
While all of this reflects extremely poorly on Baron, the worst aspect of his op-ed was its overarching message. The message was, as Baron wrote, "The best way to change something is to make an utter mockery of it." Words almost fail to express how deeply I disagree with this statement. The best way to change something is to actually get out and do something about it. It is easy to be cynical about student government, to say that things will never change, never get better. It is much harder to actually try and do something meaningful to change student government, to make it better, and to serve your fellow students.
This is why I decided to change my column for today -- I realized that my jokes and witty jabs, while not personal attacks, nonetheless were a cop-out for actual meaningful discourse. I commend all five of the candidates for Student Assembly president, as it takes someone of great courage to put their self on the line, to express their ideas and to work hard for the student body. It takes only a coward to sit on the sidelines and make fun.
