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Social Media vs. Bob Jones University

-Jamie Hershman

On April 24, Chris Peterman, a senior at Bob Jones University (BJU) was suspended nine days before his scheduled graduation because of his activity on Twitter and Facebook. He created a Facebook page titled “Do Right BJU” in an effort to create a safe space for victims of sexual abuse as a support network, as well as a place for outreach. Peterson’s personal motivation for creating the page was driven by his witnessing a church cover-up of sexual abuse.

Peterman organized a protest back in September to spread awareness but the dean of the private Protestant university told him to shut it down. Peterman did not, citing that his rights are protected under the First Amendment and the dean backed off. BJU even said they were planning on making a sexual abuse committee soon after the protest.

But things changed when Peterman returned for his final semester in January. He had to attend weekly counseling meetings and was intensely questioned about his Facebook page. The dean also went as far as to question Peterman’s friends about his social media use. Peterman’s online activity was being watched by the university.

At the beginning of April, he tweeted just before a church service that “this thing is 2hrs long?! What could they possibly talk about for so long!”. The school immediately came after him for tweeting during the service, punishing him with demerits that could ultimately affect his ability to graduate.

Just three weeks before his graduation, Peterman was once again called into the dean’s office after having watched an episode of Glee at an off-campus location. While watching TV is prohibited on-campus, that was not the reason for the dean’s questioning. The dean’s rationalization was that Peterman was watching a TV show that has homosexual relationships as well as debauchery behavior. Because of this, Peterman was given even more demerits and was almost prohibited from graduating.

The final straw came when Peterman posted lyrics to a Christian country song as his Facebook status. He received demerits for this and was officially over the allotted number of demerits that a student could have in order to graduate.

Peterman contacted local media and appealed that he should not be suspended for his watching of Glee off-campus; and, while the appeals board accepted his appeal (therefore allowing him to graduate), the dean was angered and forced Peterman off-campus. Peterman was practically dragged off campus by BJU police forces and was told that he would be arrested if he tried to return.

Ultimately, Peterman cannot graduate in his final semester at BJU. But, it wasn’t so much about all the social media activities that Peterman was suspended for; it was about his speaking out about sexual abuse on a Christian campus.

This incident does not generalize all schools with a religious focus as being strict with freedom of speech, but it does show the lengths that one school will go to throw a student under the bus and save their reputation, which, in the end, did not save their reputation at all.

Social media is about the user and is a free-forum for expression. After being censored by his university, Peterman had a right to get the media involved and appropriately did so. There is no excuse for what BJU did to Peterman, and they should be exposed for banning one student who showed an interest in peaceful activism.

More information at check out the story at CNN.com

How to Find a New Place to Live: A Guide for the Clueless

-Sam Bouchat

That time of year has come around—it’s time to reserve your fall living situation. This will be my fourth time moving in as many years, and through hardship, annoyances, and difficultly learned lessons, I have become something of an expert at finding new places to live. Here is a simple guide to make finding your next home less stressful.

1. Determine Your Priorities

Every person has different needs in a living situation. For me, I don’t mind a long commute to campus; but I cannot, under any circumstances, live in a loud environment. Quiet and tranquility (along with price) are my highest priorities. As such, this limits my living arrangement options—this is both a good and a bad thing. It’s good because I can narrow down where I want to live (areas around frats are out of the question), but bad because it gives me less options to choose from. You must figure out what is important to you, and use that structure when finding places you want to live.

2. Research Your Landlords

Utilize websites like Yelp and Google reviews to determine if your future property manager is responsible or god-awful. For instance, there must be a reason Von Klein Property Management has 17 reviews on Google, every single one of which is 1 star. But you don’t have to stop at the internet.

When I was living in my sophomore quarters, the landlord showed my place while I was there. The entire time, I was astounded that the groups to whom the place was being shown did not once ask us, the current tenants, about the rental. Talk to people who live there! You will never get a more honest opinion. And people LOVE to talk about their homes.

3. Read the Fine Print

READ. THE. LEASE. The whole lease. Every last word. Because you might end up being screwed, and you would have been warned if you had just read that last, 8 point clause. Ask questions about everything. What does “common area” imply? Who do I call for noise complaints? What’s the emergency number?

And make copies of EVERYTHING. Your lease, your checks. Write down who you talked with on the phone that promised that August rent would be half off. Keep documents, because they might be the only thing between you and a miserable year.

4. Talk to Friends

Your friends have great and awful living experiences—ask them for advice. Oh, you love where you live? How do I apply? Oh, your landlord never came to fix your dryer? I’ll be sure to avoid him.

5. Start Early

Don’t wait until the last minute to begin looking for and applying for fall apartments or houses. You’ll end up with the dregs. Find a place that you love now, and cut your stressing short. You’ll be thankful come September.

The Fashion String: Oregon Ink Tattoo Convention

-Tamara Feingold

I tried to fit in at the Oregon Ink Tattoo Convention and I failed.

Less than five minutes after walking through the doors of the Lane Events Center on Saturday, a man sees the Nikon hanging around my neck and grabs my arm. “Hey, there’s a guy hanging from his piercings at the main stage,” he says. “Take some pictures.”

I wasn’t prepared for this. When I think tattoo convention, I think a few booths of a few salons, maybe some free bumper stickers. I do not think of a man flying across the room supported only by ropes attached to his bare skin. I would soon realize that tattoo conventions are more than just events; they encompass an entire culture and to my pleasure, a distinct fashion.

This tattoo convention was actually the best part of my weekend (mostly because Wee Man from Jackass was there and he autographed a photo with ‘Stay cute, Tamara’) and I recommend that you go to one. However, I was wearing cowboy boots, which made people look at me strangely. Here’s how to fit in fashionably at a tattoo convention:

Tattoos: Don’t make my same mistake. No one will talk to you if you go to a tattoo convention and don’t have any tattoos. My sister and I resorted to applying temporary tattoos in the bathroom with wet paper towels (mine is a skull and crossbones reading ‘ROCK 4EVER’). I don’t care; just do what you have to do.

Piercings: I thought I would be safe with my septum piercing, which people often tell me I should remove. Again I was mistaken. These people pierce everything: noses, ears, lips, necks, hands. In order to be fully accepted, you should probably invest at least in a micro dermal implant piercing (the ones that are anchored under the skin and look like a jewel sitting on top).

Gauged Piercings: Not only do you need a few scattered piercings to fit in at a tattoo convention, you need to gauge a few of them. Many attendees had ears stretched to their shoulders, and I started to feel self conscious about my un-stretched lobes. Several booths sold glass plugs, so in order to buy them, stretch away.

Dark Colors: Just wear black.

Makeup: Almost every tattoo salon present advertised most clearly their Sugar Skull girl tattoos, and almost every woman wore so much makeup she looked like the porcelain corpse herself. Light skin, dark eyes, bright red lips. A massive rose sitting in your hair won’t hurt either.

After getting ready, head to the convention, which is really just a sea of ink, tattoo guns, artists, and people in pain.

Check out some of my favorite artists from the event:

The Facebook Fast

-Jessica Ridgway

Mark Zuckerberg is an evil man. He has created a diabolical website that I cannot help but love and hate. Facebook allows me to keep in touch with my family and far-away friends, it’s a great networking tool, and it keeps me informed about so many people at once. It’s helped me find old and new classmates, organize study groups, and locate telephone numbers during dire academic emergencies. Facebook has become so ingrained in my daily life I couldn’t tell you what life was like before it. I am an addict.

And then I woke up one Wednesday, I couldn’t tell you what snapped inside of me, but Facebook made me mad. Pissed. Annoyed. I wanted to get away from it immediately, so I made the impulsive decision to deactivate my account.

I hadn’t set a date for my return until the Flux blog meeting later that day. My fellow bloggers inspired me. I’d go without Facebook for one week—short enough to disappear unnoticed. The rest of Wednesday and Thursday were a piece of cake. I had no desire to log onto Facebook, but this was motivated by my, “I-don’t-care” attitude. I did, however, find myself unknowingly typing in “fa” each time I opened Google Chrome. At one point I found myself on the Facebook homepage without any recollection of typing it in. It was creepy.

On Friday things got tough. I use Spotify to listen to music, but Spotify is connected to my Facebook account. That sucked, but it wasn’t frustrating. Finding out that my Scramble With Friends, Words With Friends, and Draw Something apps are all connected to Facebook—that was frustrating.

But, it was also a blessing in disguise, because that weekend was the most beautiful weekend Eugene has had all spring. And because I wasn’t logged onto Facebook I missed invitations to parties and future campus events—but I spent my time outside with friends. I played ladder ball. I read a book for fun. I cleaned my room and living room. I wrote a letter to my friend. I wrote a letter to myself. I wrote. And perhaps I would have still done all these different activities with an active Facebook account, but it was simply blissful to feel so disconnected.

And then Monday came. And I found myself feeling sheepish because I missed out or wasn’t invited to a certain party because I didn’t have a Facebook. People had started to notice my absence, and when I told them I deactivated my account they reacted as if I had just offended them (until I explained the fast). And then Tuesday arrived, and I was peering over my friend’s shoulders to peek at their pages. I found out that my roommate posted new pictures; I had to fight the temptation from logging in.

Finally, it was Wednesday—but as much as I wanted to log in and absorb the online world I had distanced myself from, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. While I missed the feeling of constantly being informed, I enjoyed my freedom from the things I despise about Facebook. The people that post unnecessary statuses. The people that post too many photos of food. The people that I just don’t like. I did not miss them one bit, even with my growing curiosity.

So, I stretched my week-long Facebook fast a couple more days. When I finally returned and perused all of the pages I wanted to I realized just how much this simple website can take out of my day. While it is a useful addition to my life, it’s also my biggest form of procrastination.

This is how I cured my addiction.

The Disappointing Side of Cinco de Mayo

-Mike Munoz

As a college student, there’s not much to dislike about Cinco de Mayo. We get to eat Mexican food and drink cervezas and margaritas all day long if we please, and the Hispanic side of me loves any opportunity to show off my guacamole-making skills. So when Cinco de Mayo came yesterday, I was pretty excited to celebrate. But as the night got off to a start, I found myself hating the “holiday.”

My roommate and I headed to a party over at Ducks Village apartments and were immediately greeted by friends disguised in big mustaches and sombreros. I tried not to think too much of the offensive costumes, and instead decided to chalk it up to the excessive amount of tequila they had been drinking all day. A couple of hours and a few Coronas later, we decided to hit the campus bars, where things were much, much worse.

As I waited in line at Taylors, it seemed as though everyone around us was in costume. It was like Halloween night, except everyone called each other earlier that day and decided they should all dress up as offensive portrayals of Mexicans. The mustaches and sombreros were getting noticeably larger and I couldn’t help but notice that most of the kids in costume were white.

And if that wasn’t bad enough, some decided to leave the sombreros and ponchos at home and instead sported bandanas and fake tattoos, because apparently being a gangster is the same thing as being a Mexican.

The whole night, I waded through a crowd of people in offensive costumes speaking conversations in broken Spanish. Friends were constantly reassuring me that it was all in fun and that I shouldn’t let it get to me, but it was hard to listen when they weren’t the ones having their race made fun of.

Is this really all people think about when it comes to Mexican culture? Booze and gangsters? Because if these are things that are actually a part of our culture, I apparently missed the memo.

I know these offensive Cinco de Mayo shenanigans aren’t limited to Eugene, but it was disappointing to see it in a place I’ve called home for the last 4 years. Not only are these depictions of Mexicans highly offensive, but they reinforce negative stereotypes about an entire race of people. A culture is not a costume, and people need to think of that before they suit up for Cinco de Mayo.