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Junior Hudson should not be giving advice to seniors Imagine my surprise to open up the TCU Daily Skiff Tuesday morning to learn that (gasp!), “Seniors should appreciate their last days in college.” This insightful article was truly groundbreaking news for each senior. As a graduating senior, I wanted to thank Chelsea Hudson for making sure I knew that I needed to take time to enjoy the remainder of my time at TCU. In all honesty, this article may have been one of the biggest wastes of column space I have seen in The Skiff (and I have seen quite a few). I find it very surprising that a junior, who has no idea what it is like to be a senior, wrote this article. Ms. Hudson’s views on the emotions and thoughts that we seniors are currently experiencing are unrealistic. I read Ms. Hudson’s column each week, and I have yet to see her take a stand on something that might actually spark a debate. It seems as if she seeks to present an “opinion” that is so uncontroversial that she would avoid the risk of anyone noticing that it lacks characteristics of an actual editorial. Each column seems to be coated with a sugar-sweet sentiment in hopes that readers won’t disagree with her. After all, who will actually come out in support of seniors not appreciating their last days in college? Ms. Hudson is in an incredible position to be an effective force to motivate students to take action on issues that really matter. This article fails to do this. I value Ms. Hudson’s leadership of the student body and her vision for TCU, yet this article fails to live up to her potential. —
Jenna Meriwether, HIV/AIDS Testing Fair meant to be stigma free The students in charge of the HIV/AIDS Testing Fair disagree with your views on the “fair.” It is not as if we woke up one day and decided, “Hey, let’s test people for AIDS outside in a central campus location for everyone to see.” This project has been worked on for nearly three months. Our concern was for how students might respond to such an event, so we sought feedback from the various organizations on campus. Not only did we get support from the Student Government Association and Community Council, but also 30 other organizations and area businesses. If the social work department at TCU honestly felt this was a bad idea, they would not have let the event happen. More importantly, the AIDS Outreach Center would not have done the testing in such a public place if they did not believe in the purpose of our project. The whole purpose of the fair was to provide HIV testing to the TCU population as well as the surrounding community in a stigma-free atmosphere. If everyone gets tested, then who is to know which students actually need the test and which ones are there to support the testing. Just because you are ashamed and embarrassed does not mean that the 81 people who came out on Friday are. We do not disagree that this is a private issue, however, our main goal is that there are many people on this campus, and all over, that need the test, but do not have access to the testing and do not feel comfortable, even in a private setting. As an individual, you have the choice to go and get tested; no one was forced to come. We agree that testing should be provided in private for those that want it, but we wanted to challenge students and faculty to view AIDS testing in a different light: As a positive and healthy choice to keep themselves and their partners risk free. —
Jennifer Gideon, |
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