1 ISSUE 89.15 UNION COLLEGE MARCH 16, 2015 EXAMINING CENSORSHIP: CLEANING OUT OUR CLOSETS 2 BY JORDAN ZY AND SLADE LANE EXAMINING CENSORSHIP “We all want to feel safe and sound enough to be the people we truly are.“ 3 JORDAN ZY Freedom of Speech is a right you have for being in the United States. It is an act that is protected by the First Amendment in the Constitution and is also a part of many state and federal laws. This freedom is in place to protect democracy and the rights of its citizens. However, there are some things you can say that will jeopardize your freedom. Inciting imminent lawless action is an exclusion to free speech. This was established in Brandenburg, Ohio, in which it became a crime to say some- thing that would incite the crowds into chaos or lawless actions. This is a good restriction, as seen in the classic example of yelling “Fire!” in a crowded theater when there is no fire. It could lead to panic and a lot of harm. Freedom of Speech also doesn’t cover “fighting words,” when you say some- thing to deliberately cause the hearer to retaliate, or true threats to the safety of the hearer. Imagine someone spoke about threatening your life. You call 911 and the police say they can’t do any- thing about it unless the speaker takes action. It wouldn’t help to wait until you’ve been attacked to seek help from authorities. Perhaps you’ve heard about court cases over defamation of character, libel, or slander? These usually are civil cases for when one party sues another party for using their freedom of speech to spread lies or falsely cast poor light on them. This exclusion protects the citizen’s reputation. Commercial speech has restrictions as well. After the supreme court ruling in Central Hudson Gas & Electric Corp. vs. Public Service Commission the government is allowed to ban advertise- ments for cigarettes, or make it unlawful for companies to use false advertising to trick consumers to buy into something they won’t actually receive. Each of these things are just some of the many examples of censorship of speech that are in place to protect you, the citizen. You have the freedom to say anything you want so long as that speech does not impede on the rights of others, which is why some people use FEATURED ARTICLE: SAFE & SOUND To how much good and evil should we be exposed? Examining Censorship: Cleaning Out Our Closets 4 this right to say racist remarks, political activists use the right to put bumper stickers with angry phrases against the other political party, or religious people can use the right to tell people they are going to hell. It is legal so long as they do not threaten anyone. While it is in poor taste to be a part of the KKK or the Westboro Baptist Church, these groups have the right to have their say as long as they don’t do anything to threaten the safety or well-being of others in society. As a Christian institution, we are held to the “higher standard” of social con- duct. Our campus is a dry campus, yes, but there is more to attending Union than that. Not only are we banned from drinking alcohol on campus, but it’s against the rules for students to partake off campus as well. Everyone knows the possible dangers and side effects of alcohol, and the school wants us to be safe and happy Christians. This benefit is for us as well as the school. What would Lincoln citizens think if a bunch of kids with Union hoodies were always being ratchet at a bar or wandering the streets while drunk? We represent our school with our actions at all times, not when you’re between 48th and 52nd street, Bancroft to Prescott. That being said, what are we representing as Adventists and Christians, and how are we showing people Jesus when we partake in actions of poor taste? An additional requirement is to attend worships. We rack up attendance on point systems. While we would be fined for not going, no one is forcing us to do anything other than sit on a pew. It just means we are more likely to be in the right place at the right time to reignite our inner spirit for Jesus. That leads us to our dress code, which isn’t so bad. If Regina George were in charge we would only be allowed to wear sweats or pony tails once a week, and on Wednesdays we would wear pink. If it were up to me I’d get rid of camouflage patterns, jeans-with- flip-flops and we would only have the college girl outfit of uggs + yoga pants + north face + messy buns once a week max (I get you Regina!). But it is up to the Adventist standards of school dress, not me or a character from mean girls. We’re lucky that women aren’t required to wear skirts and dresses, and men required to wear a collar and tie on a daily basis. The dress code censorship rules do affect girls more than guys. Guys basically have to make sure they don’t have large holes, alcohol brands, or cross dress— so it is pretty simple. Girls have rules about length of straps, length of shirts, length of shorts, length of skirts, length FEATURED ARTICLE: SAFE & SOUND We represent our school with our actions at all times, not when you’r street, Bancroft and Prescott. 5 FEATURED ARTICLE: SAFE & SOUND of dresses. Each one has specification of some elaborate manipulation of fingers that as a male I feel lucky to not know enough to write about. At the end of the day, the Adventist school system is just trying to keep us modest in a soci- ety driven by sexualization and gender stratification. Girls aren’t required to wear a burka, but are required to not go for a “flirty” look that ends up as an outfit that yells “how much?” Then again, I’m a guy, so I’ll be the first to admit that I don’t know the whole struggle. While the school does not censor other non-Adventist conduct, nor condemn it, it still asks us to accept it and partic- ipate if we will. There is a reason people choose to take the sunset-to-sunset day off from school work or worldly activi- ties. But since God made a Sabbath day off for man, not man for the Sabbath, we are allowed to do what we will on this day. The cafeteria supports a vege- tarian lifestyle, but we are not forbidden from getting some chicken or pork at Mr. Lee’s down the street. I won’t even pretend for a second that I support government internet regula- tion. I have no bones in my body that will care to explain the minor benefits of this idea (such as making it a safer place for minors) that could be taken care of by parents understanding that the internet is not going to be censored and educating their children about the dangers and abuses they may find there. We don’t need an MPAA/ESRB/FCC The internet is and should always remain an “Unrated” medium, users should know the risks and it should be up to the parents to make their own restrictions for children. 6 FEATURED ARTICLE: SAFE & SOUND or any other type of organization to rate and censor the web. The internet is and should always remain an “Unrated” me- dium, users should know the risks and it should be up to the parents to make their own restrictions for children. Outside of a national standard of re- strictions at the home, school, and even a college campus level I do fully under- stand the reasons Internet restriction tools are put into place. Blocking sites that allow for access to pornography or piracy should absolutely be blocked. Piracy includes acts of theft of digital material online. There are those who don’t see the harm in online piracy, but I’m not here to argue that. The reason it is good for Union College to use censorship to block pirating websites is to protect the college itself as well as the students. Internet piracy, although vague, is still illegal. Federal law inflicts major fines on people who commit to stealing movies for example. Union College doesn’t deserve to pay the fines it would receive for the hundreds of movies the students would download illegally, and the administration would rather not enable you to get yourself in trouble either. Sometimes Internet censorship does benefit us, and the school is very invest- ed and interested in its students safety and well-being. So lets talk about porn. According to a general online study by Covenanteyes.com, men are 543% more likely to look at porn than women, 64% of men look at porn at least once a week compared to 18% of women. Pornog- raphy easily becomes an addiction, and like any addiction most people deny they are so dependent on it. You’ll make up any excuse in the book to convince yourself that you are exempt from these dangers. In reality you’re really stuck, but every part of you, consciously or unconsciously, will never see it that way. Porn is as addictive as drugs or alcohol can be. In my perspective, it’s some- times easier to get into and in some ways harder to escape. But this is why Union College has the right to censor our Internet use. While we have the freedom on our own to view it, and most people who want to can find a way to bypass it, the school has an obligation to not enable anyone to fall in the traps of online pornogra- phy. It is for our safety, our well-being, and our health—all of which Union College are not only liable for but focused on helping us thrive in. Censorship is used to protect us in many ways, which is why we have it in most cases. I for one don’t always love the restrictions in place, but I do appreciate that we are not going to be engulfed into an uncensored anarchy anytime soon. Jordan is a senior studying psychology. Censorship is used to protect us in teh many ways, which is why we have it in most cases. 7 FEATURED ARTICLE: SAFE & SOUND Examining Censorship: Union College’s Re - sponsibility The balance between policy and ethics SLADE LANE Censorship is both a problem and paradox that plagues societies past and present. What are we allowed to say? What are we allowed to produce? What should we the people know? And most crippling of all—what are we allowed to think? Censoring is the act of suppressing, or altogether blotting out, the unaccept- able parts. It might take the form of jailing someone for sharing government secrets, telling the media what they may or may not say, or even not allowing a college newspaper to print the name of a concert venue (that just so happens to be on O street). All of these are forms of censorship. It is weeding out the parts that some controlling body finds unacceptable— whether it’s because of politics or reli- gion. As a private institution governed by the Seventh-day Adventist church and Judeo-Christian values, Union College tries to filter and censor certain things that come onto our campus and what happens or is said on our campus. As Jordan Zy has informed, Union College not only has a right to do this, they also do it because they care for us as students and people. Certain sites are blocked, systems are in order before things can be posted on billboards, and even a dress code is in place (a truly lax code for those who haven’t attended other Adventist institutions) to ensure that we dress modestly and professional- ly. All of these things are to our benefit. Union College has a right to censor materials, create clothing policies, and pass what students want to advertise on campus through a screening process (We aren’t always the most tactful and appropriate people, us college folk). But here’s the really cool part—we as students also have a right to ask—in some cases demand—a change in these systems. We are all a family here at Union; faculty and students are in a relation- ship, a really great one too. We each want Union to be the best place it can be. But like any relationship, if we aren’t communicating competently and 8 FEATURED ARTICLE: SAFE & SOUND with earnestness, we will end up bitter, broken up, and in a place we don’t want to be. Certain internet websites are blocked for our well-being. Many will notice, though, that websites that aren’t pornographic or far flung on the other side of the moral spectrum have been blocked. A site like College Humor is currently blocked on campus. The mor- al value of such a website can be called into question, yet is blocking it for our moral safety? Many other sites like this are blocked on campus. Union College has a policy and an im- age to uphold, but it also has a respon- sibility to allow its students to decide some things for themselves. Some sites are painted black and white, while oth- ers might be grey. On this campus we have a unique interaction with faculty—they are often our friends. When an act of censorship is happening to us as a student body, it’s up to us to step up, dialogue, and work toward a solution. We aren’t living in “1984” or a Aldous Huxley novel. We as students still have a way to change things for the better on our campus. And to the Faculty: we appreciate what you do for us. You make tough deci- sions and work hard to make Union the best it can be for us. We love this school. We care about this school. We are all in this together. We all want to feel safe and sound enough to be the people we truly are. Slade is a senior studying language arts edu- cation. We as students still have a way to change things for the better on our campus . 9 LINCOLN Why Nebraska? Discovering what brings college students to the cornfields DEBBIE PINTO When we tell our friends and family we go to school in Lincoln, Nebraska, the question that most frequently follows is “Why?”. In fact, some of us may have pondered that question ourselves, yet Lincoln is home to more than 38,000 college students. How have these cornfields turned into a cornucopia of collegiates? I’ve interviewed 3 students in Lincoln to find out. University of Nebraska-Lincoln (UNL) is home to 24,207 students. Known for their Big Red school spirit, UNL is home to one of the nation’s most popu- lar college football teams: the Nebraska Cornhuskers. On Saturdays during football season, it’s common to see waves of fans dressed in red flooding the streets Lincoln’s Haymarket District. Alleah Bouley, a chemistry pre-med major, is in her second year at UNL and loves “the football hype, the chemistry program, and the campus.” While many are skeptical when they first arrive to Lincoln, Bouley “loved it from the beginning. The only thing I don’t like are the cold winters.” When asked what her favorite part about Lincoln was, she said “the closeness of everything and, of course, the sea of red during football season.” Because Lincoln is a small city, many stores and restaurants are in close proximity, especially in downtown Lin- coln where one can find boutiques, art galleries, hole-in-the-wall restaurants, and various types of stores. I was curious about her transition from the scenic views of Colorado to the flatlands of Nebraska. “It wasn’t hard for me because I originally came here with my best friend. She has since moved back to Colorado but I’ve made lots of new friends in my classes and sorori- ty.” Thus the big question, would she recommend other students to come to Lincoln? “I always recommend people to come here! I have loved my expe- rience and the opportunities I’ve had in college and want others to have the same experience.” Twelve minutes north of Union we find Nebraska Wesleyan University. Rooted in United Methodist heritage, this liberal arts university is home to approximately 2,100 college students. Kelby Bordwell graduated from Wesley- 10 LINCOLN an as a psychology major this past year. Originally from Omaha, she wanted to attend a college close enough to home and as a result enjoyed living in Lincoln. When asked what her favorite part about Lincoln was, she said “the people, music scene, and coffee shop scene. Everyone is super friendly and easy to strike up a conversation with. There is a strong variety of artists that I have been able to see. And the Mill is my absolute favorite coffee shop.” Coffee shops are a popular place for students to study. Some of Lincoln’s most popular are The Mill, The Coffee House, Scooters, Cultiva, and Meadowlark. Lincoln has also hosted popular artists such as Pretty Lights, Mac Miller, Mumford and Sons, Needtobreathe, and many more. Bordwell also mentioned how “you could literally spend all day in the Haymarket just exploring downtown Lincoln and even UNL’s campus.” When it came time for the big question of whether or not she would recom- mend other students to come here, say responded excitedly saying “Oh most definitely!! I think Lincoln is a great place for students to go to school because there is so much to do and the educations at the schools are great!” After talking to students around Lin- coln, what about the students on our own campus? Stella Park, a biomedical science major knows the local treasures of Lincoln like the back of her hand but did not want to come study here. “I promised myself that I’d go some- where warmer than Lincoln.” Now Stella can tell us some of the most fun and delicious places to go! “Nebras- ka isn’t all crop fields. Get zen at the Sunken Gardens, stroll along the brick buildings over the cobblestone roads in the Historic Haymarket district, grab a gourmet burger at Dempsey’s Burger Pub, around the world pizza at Yia Yia’s, go on a classy date to the Lied Center…. and so on! Bring your car, or find a friend with a car and Lincoln will turn out to be an incredible place filled with lots of local treasures, and great restaurants.” And finally, when asked if she would recommend students to come to Lin- coln, she said “it’s a fun place that has something for everyone...It’s a moder- ately sized city with the perks of a small town as well as a big city. Right smack dab in the middle of the US, it’s fairly close to a lot of the Midwest destina- tions if you love road trips.” It’s become clear that Lincoln is more than cornfields. We may not have the ocean or skyscrapers but we are here be- cause we want to be here. There are cool local treasures waiting to be discovered and a community of college students who are ready to have fun and explore other gems found in this small city. Lincoln, thanks for being awesome. Debbie is a junior elementary education major. We may not have the ocean or skyscrapers but we are here because we want to be here. 11 CULTURE Inked At Union College An exploration of tattoos on campus KATIE MORRISON Tattoos are popular. There’s no doubt about it. From the all engrossing back tats and intricate sleeves to the delicate “basic girl” arrows, there’s a tattoo that can appeal to everyone. Even those who aren’t completely sure they want some- thing permanent can test out the crazed “flash tattoos.” These are temporary metallic tattoos, generally Aztec design or jewelry inspired and most definitely intended for the female persuasion. I was able to get some stories from actual Unionites who took the plunge and got the real deal. Chaz Spellman has about a dozen tattoos, everything from his bottom lip to his feet. Each came from personal inspirations, namely his family and his background in the military. “The vast majority of the time, the only reaction I get to my tattoos is someone saying they like them and that they’re cool,” the senior theology major said. When asked if having tattoos at an Adventist school whose stance towards them is apathetic at best, he said he hasn’t noticed an effect personally. “People are generally accepting and even those who hate tattoos ought to understand that we all have a past. Some can just hide theirs better,” he added. Caleb Freitag, a junior IRR major, and Ben Holms, a senior communications major, hold similar viewpoints on tattoos. Both thought hard before their decisions to get inked and still love their tattoos. “A lot of people are very quick to judge, not necessarily me as an individual because of my tattoo, but the results that they assume will take place because of it,” said Freitag. “They will say things like, ‘it’s going to make it hard for you to get a job’. I obviously considered all of that before I got it but the meaning of the tattoo itself is more important to me than the potential consequences.” Holms expressed his intense fascination as a way of being in touch with his identity. “I’ve always been intrigued by tattoos as well as other body modifi- cation (piercings, branding, implants, scarring). For me, it’s all a part of my culture,” he said. “I’m surrounded by it and only wish to contribute to it. I was hugely inspired by the events that transpired in my life.” I asked about 12 CULTURE some of the reactions he’s received from Adventists about his tattoos and he said they ranged from the extremes. Being raised Adventist, he was taught the classic Adventist stance: no tattoos. But growing up, Holms ignored what others thought of him and remained true to himself. “My tattoos have made me feel different,” he said. “I realized early on that I’m far different than most Adven- tists and I suspect I always will be.” Another Unionite with some crazy stories behind her tattoos is Meredith Nichols, a junior IRR major. She has three tattoos: one in memory of her grandmother; a compass with Isaiah 6:8 to remind her of her purpose and to stay on track; and a bow and arrow to represent her time away from Union, a symbol describing how she had to be pulled back to go forward. “I get a lot of positive feedback from people at Union, at least the students. My grandparents aren’t the happiest about the tattoos,” she admitted, “but they are glad they have a meaning.” She agreed with the others I had interviewed, maintaining the fact that the best tattoos are the ones with stories and meanings, not just because you think it’s cool for a week. In closing, I have to end with a touch on Adventist beliefs because we’re at an Adventist school. Plenty of old school Adventists frown on tattoos. “I do feel like I need to cover up my tattoos more when I’m out and around campus,” Nichols mentioned. Tattoos are some- thing younger generations are getting interested in. But our view of tattoos should not be harsh. It should not be negative at all. Our main view for all of these things should be one of accep- tance. Even if we aren’t participating in them and rushing the nearest tattoo parlor, we should never judge someone who has made the decision to do so. It is not our place. Our job, as Christians, is to love. Katie is a studying business administration. 13 MARCH SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT 1 2 3 4 5 6 SPRING BREAK! 7 SPRING BREAK! yassssss 8 SPRING BREAK! much sun. so warmth. wow. 9 SPRING BREAK! 10 SPRING BREAK! woooooohoooo 11 SPRING BREAK! 12 SPRING BREAK! #bestdayever 13 SPRING BREAK! 14 SPRING BREAK! almost over :( #devistated THUMBS UP | THUMBS DOWN U P CO M I N G E V E N TS To my birthday - Sarah Ventura To women’s suffrage - Slade Lane To all the little kids running around here - Lindsey Fandrich To touchscreen gloves - Chloe Blackburn To late chemistry labs - Georgia Russel 14 The Clocktower encourages reader feedback and strives to maintain accuracy. If you have comments, email us at cltower@gmail.com. The Clocktower is published weekly during the school year by the Associated Student Body of Union College, 3800 S. 48th St., Lincoln, NE 68506. 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