As a proud alumna of Ohio University and a past columnist for The Post, I make it essential of my everyday routine to read online the happenings of Ohio University ' alas, having graduated in June, I am still missing the college life. I actively comment on articles online, but with all the incessant complaining going on about the right and wrong of The Post's journalism, I feel compelled to write to more than just the online community.
In the past week or so in The Post, there have been multiple ongoing debates pertaining to the suicide attempt(s) and to Alissa Griffith's column on God. People are so disgusted and appalled with a small picture of a public suicide attempt and Griffith's column about faith that I'm surprised some extremist group hasn't been formed to try and shut down The Post and its horrible display of journalism. With all the accusations flying around, it seems to me that people have forgotten this is a newspaper, and started to think that The Post is a document printed each week solely to offend them.
The controversy over publishing the picture of OU's suicide celebrity, Marc Kidby, has gone on long enough. It's absurd to think that a newspaper would not print a picture of something done in a public place. While in no way am I belittling the possible seriousness of this matter, I use the word possible lightly because he has threatened twice, and the whole situation is beginning to remind me of the story The little boy who cried wolf. If people are really concerned about this man's wellbeing, then there are more important things that they should be focusing on instead of one miniscule photo in which you can hardly make out the man's face. The questions we should be asking are: Why is this man back out on the streets and not getting help? What about the safety of the public ' will he eventually snap and hurt others as well? People are so concerned with this man's rights that they are neglecting to see what's really important: his life.
As someone who was once under attack for her own personal views as well, I fully support Griffith and her faith-based column. While I may not agree completely with how she worded things, overall the column was a presentation of her faith and values. In her letter to the editor, Christina Carter went so far as to condemn Griffith by saying she used her column to pedal [her] unfounded
poorly supported beliefs. Opinions are formed and supported by experience, and the existence of God is founded by those who believe in Him. Therefore, Ms. Carter (and others who were intolerant of the opinion in this article), remember there is a reason you feel the way you do and try not to be so quick to assume you know the real truth.
Overall, I think OU has gotten a little bit touchy when it's come to the PC matters of things. OU has always been a liberal university, but perhaps the liberal mindset of never offend anyone has gone a little bit too far. You can't write for a newspaper and not be prepared to offend someone, and you can't threaten to jump off a building in the middle of a city and not expect to be put on the front page. So calm down. You will have a better chance of surviving outside the OU bubble, if you begin shedding your collegiate liberal views of playing nice is best and start growing some thicker skin for reality.' Alex Jabs is a 2007 alumna of Ohio University and a former Post columnist.
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