Activist Ryant Taylor gives his critique of The Post
I recall sitting in a classroom this past semester, bored out of my mind and thinking, “Is this really helping? It seems like we’re just mindless puppets.” These are my exact thoughts about The Post, which would seem odd since I am writing a column for it — Straight For The Jugular. As a student activist at Ohio University, I have seen many controversial topics slide under the rug when meaningful conversation and change could have occurred. The faults of The Post are among the things that are swept away. As a columnist, I want to expose the complacency of the Bobcat family and hopefully change it.
To begin, I argue that most students are not compelled to read The Post. It’s not bold enough. I only began to read The Post when my friends were mentioned in it. After regularly reading the paper, its inadequacies became apparent. This is where my disappointment begins.
As a student-run paper, The Post should be reflective of the critical mindset that students should have. Granted, it has made honest journalistic mistakes. But more importantly, its staff sits on hard-hitting topics they could choose to tackle. Among them are tuition hikes, disingenuous administration-student interactions, student-athlete slavelike labor, certain sexist greek life houses, dismal reaction to rape cases, exploitative diversity and more.
The headline of the “From The Editor’s Desk” column on Oct. 24, 2014, stated that The Post covers “stories that reflect the interests of students.” This reasoning is toxic when much of the student body is apathetic and holds privilege in the face of issues that affect minority groups and require difficult conversation. The Post does nothing to recognize this.
On Nov. 12, 2014, an article titled “Resolution up for vote will reduce meetings” was published about Student Senate. A photo paired with the article mistook two African American female students for one another in its caption. The following Friday, the editor called the error “cringe-inducing,” “idiotic” and an “isolated event not indicative of systematic racial insensitivity.” This cowardly explanation shows an apathetic, privileged body that yields power over media calling for colorblindness. We live in a country that deems African Americans second-class citizens unworthy of proper representation. For minority students, racial insensitivity is not simply “cringe-inducing.” It is our reality on and off campus.
On Oct. 15, 2014, a column from The Post’s senior editor stated that because we are “not in a perfect world,” then F--kRapeCulture should alter their “very, very angry” demeanor to be less “polarizing.” This critique fails to acknowledge that this group’s advocacy is largely polarizing to perpetrators of and those indifferent to sexual assault. The column should have questioned the actions of those violating other people’s bodies, not those protesting. Instead it offered spineless solutions, such as “walking in groups.” It is similar to the victim-blaming and ignoring behavior I witnessed from high school classmates when my friend admitted to being raped.
The Post has more faults. On Nov. 25, 2014, an article was published with the line, “Ohio University officials chose to keep the doors open past midnight,” instead of describing the student power during #OccupyBaker that forced administration to back down. Their retelling of events failed to mention administrative fear of bad publicity and provided no significant coverage of the student conversations that occurred.
This method of reporting exhibits a lack of understanding that students, especially minorities, are in dire need of accurate representation by fellow students.
I have a few suggestions for those who find fault with The Post:
a) Never read the paper if you are morally against their coverage.
or
b) Keep an eye on the paper like an unfaithful partner. Scream when it screws up. Demand reform.
No matter what solution you choose, educate yourself and those around you. As a new columnist for The Post, I take it upon myself to do my part by writing about difficult topics. Every Wednesday, Straight For The Jugular will discuss pressing issues that most students don’t think about and offer a critical perspective.
Ryant Taylor is a senior studying English, a coordinator for the Ohio University Student Union, LGBTQA commissioner for Student Senate, and an activist on campus. Email him at rt923710@ohio.edu.
