First Amendment to the Rescue

By Naama Levy

Newspapers, along with all forms of publications, represent a community larger than just the individuals who work for them. When writing a column, or doing anything that speaks for the publication as a whole, people take a bigger responsibility than most realize. Many use the “I’m entitled to my own opinion” excuse, but that does not justify saying whatever happens to pop into one’s head without preceding consideration. Yes, the First Amendment provides freedom of speech and entitles you to your own opinion, but publications and individuals representing them must be aware of the consequences of the material they publish.
Recently at Indiana University, the Odyssey, “a weekly lifestyle newspaper focused on the Greek community at Indiana University,” ran a column titled “Rating Girls” by senior Yale Reardon. The article angered many due to its sexist system of evaluating women solely by their appearance on a scale of 1-10. Reardon used phrases like “A two is not much better than a one. She is god awful ugly as well. No matter how many drinks you have, she won't look hotter or thinner.”
It seemed that Reardon did not realize or didn’t care that these offensive words would represent not only him, but the newspaper he was writing for. And not only was he making The Odyssey look bad, but he was representing the entire fraternity community. Reardon’s introduction paragraph explains: “One of my favorite things to do with my friends is to argue about what number a girl is.” By depicting himself as a narrow-minded moron, Reardon intensified his own already negative stereotype. Sentences like “She doesn’t need a personality because her face and body make up for it. These make ideal girlfriends and will get you mad bro points out the wazoo” make the writer, the Greek community, and the newspaper staff look like a bunch of arrogant jerks. This is taking humor too far to the point where it’s not even funny but just degrading and stupid.
The column was published in the humor section, but it’s fair to assume that most readers found the article more appalling than funny and that more than anything it reinforced people’s revulsion of frats.
If the content of the column is not bad enough, Reardon’s grammar mistakes and pathetically poor writing abilities confirm the stereotype he so bluntly reveals. It’s not a matter of freedom of speech when all you have to say is sexist and offensive rubbish.
When one day Readon gets fired for expressing his bloated mind irresponsibly, his boss won’t care that he is entitled to his own opinion. Some opinions are better kept than shared on the pages of newspapers. And don’t bring up the First Amendment when the purpose behind your article is to gain “bro points”.