3 minute read
Press Watch by Our Staff
CampuspresswatCh
Written by our Staff
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We know you don’t read the other campus publications, so we did it for you. Original pieces are in quotes, our responses are in bold.
“Editorial: Guess who’s Yak, Yak again”, Pipe Dream Editorial Board, Pipe Dream, 09/22/21
“However, users quickly began exploiting this anonymity, creating a toxic environment overrun with racism, sexism, cyberbullying and other forms of violence.”
When you combine a college of immature young people and a platform with total anonymity and no repercussions...I really don’t know what you were expecting, Pipe Dream editorial board. Even from its inception, Yik Yak was designed to be totally anonymous. Also, SPEECH IS NOT VIOLENCE! As bad as the speech found on Yik Yak could be, words on a screen do not constitute violence, no matter how vile they are. Nice try sneaking that in, though.
“The question of free speech often revolves around what, or who, extending all forms of free speech comes at the expense of.”
No one. Free speech does not have any values or opinions, it is only an extension of basic liberties. This is not to say that all speech should be free of consequences, as some speech may be impolite or even constitute fraud or libel. There exist methods to deal with such actions, even in a free society. So there is no question of free speech; only the question of how long I can withstand reading these shitty articles.
“For the Editorial Board’s personal Yik Yak favorites, read below”
For funnier Yaks, see the back cover!
“Voting in every election matters”, Eleanor Gully, Pipe Dream, 09/22/21
“Governors have real power, and having a Republican in charge of the most populated state, even if for just one year, could have had enormous effects.”
This sentence has some very partisan implications. So much for the fair and balanced media.
“Elections can be, and are, decided by very narrow margins. Binghamton University is a part of New York’s 22nd Congressional District. Democrat Anthony Brindisi narrowly lost to Republican Claudia Tenney by merely 109 votes in the 2020 election.”
This is blatant cherry-picking. Out of the 435 districts, there were only 15-22 toss-up districts and 20-40 lean districts compared to the over 300 safe districts. While NY-22 happens to be a safe district which makes sense for students from Long Island or the city to vote here, you won’t be guaranteed a toss-up election where your vote will have a large impact relative to other districts. This also begs the question of voting in a location they inhabit for a temporary period of time: i.e. students at a university away from home.
“Now, the obvious criticism of “vote blue no matter who” is that Democrats have a majority and aren’t doing enough. This is a popular critique among our youth, and I wholeheartedly agree with it. But the answer is not to throw away your vote. The reason is harm reduction — the opposing party won’t turn out less if you stay home. This means for people who want bold and sweeping reforms passed, refusing to settle for moderate Democrats in elections because of “moral purity” does nothing more than give political power to the other party.”
This argument is fine, but ignores the option of voting for a third party. As a third-party voter, I am offended. #KANYE2024!
“Wait a minute”, Pipe Dream Editorial Board, Pipe Dream, 09/30/21
“COVID-19 restrictions have also led the SAPB to sell floor tickets in “floor pods,” or reserved floor areas with the capacity for either four students in a “small pod” or eight students in the “large pod.” Though pods are shared by multiple students, they must be purchased by one person as a whole, making the cost of large pods $320 and small pods $160 at the same floor price of $40 per person. The sole ticket holder will then be contacted to provide the SAPB a list of the other pod members by a certain deadline.”
