Rice relevance key to quality opinion page
Opinions are like assholes — everyone has one, and not everyone wants theirs printed in the Thresher. But every week, the Thresher opinion section finds three people willing to moon the Rice campus, journalistically speaking. Those three are brave enough to put a column out there, slap an ugly mug shot on it, and wait for readers’ reactions Friday morning.
Early last year, one bold freshman wrote an excellent column about the benefits and pitfalls of the anxious pre-frosh e-community. This look at LiveJournal was insightful, relevant and, most importantly, entertaining. For some reason this column provoked the hatred of one upperclassman, who felt it was his duty to address this columnist — via a condemning personal e-mail rather than a constructive letter to the editor.
Letters to the editor are an important part of the opinion page. They provide a way for readers to respond to columns or address issues that do not require a full column. But this letter went outside the realm of reason and became a personal attack, which can be especially resonant on Rice’s small campus. I’m the sort of person who takes twisted pleasure in receiving Thresher-related death threats, but most other columnists do not take hate mail so well.
While some issues — sex, drugs or religion — are sure to strike a nerve, sometimes an angry response just appears to come from nowhere. It seems the root problem is a misunderstanding of the Thresher opinion page. The opinion page is not a forum for philosophical tirades. It is not a stage for stump speeches. And it is certainly not always fair and balanced. But the opinion page is about Rice.
So for the three opinion columns every issue, I try to make sure that one addresses issues outside the hedges, one stays on campus and one takes a whimsical edge — and that all stay relevant to Rice or college life.
Sure, it is fun to feel important and ramble about international affairs, national scandals and political follies. But these sorts of opinions are plethoric throughout other newspapers, not to mention the blogosphere. And with such a small paper, actual results from addressing international issues are questionable.
The Thresher has the position available to few other mediums to affect Rice directly, something of which students should take advantage. Of course, when issues get big enough they inadvertently grab the attention of Rice students. That’s not to say that a column about Iraq wouldn’t be much more poignant with a “What does this mean to students?” spin.
A Rice Voices columnist usually writes one of the pieces. These columnists are chosen to represent the diversity of thought and opinion that flourishes within the hedges. This sort of diversity is not the usual black or white, Democrat or Republican diversity. Instead, it is Rice diversity — academ or S/E, north or south college, drunk or sober, campus crusader or atheist agenda. Rice isn’t like the rest of the world, and neither are our demographics — columnists should reflect that.
While one column is always reserved for Rice Voices, the other two are wide open to everyone else. All a column requires is at least 550 well-chosen words on an interesting and relevant topic submitted by the 5 p.m. Sunday deadline. Anyone can write a column, magically turning dinner table complaints into campus-wide critique. With one good column, a student can have a real impact on Rice, not to mention becoming “that Thresher guy/girl” at parties. And considering I only get to experience the schadenfreude of editorial rejection about once a semester, there is no one stopping you but yourself.
In the end, if we cannot get enough writers, we turn to an editor, usually me. As much as I love ranting about sex, drugs and rock and roll, I only write when other people do not. Contrary to previous accusations, the opinion page is not my personal soapbox — that’s the Backpage.
So if you’ve got an idea and the time, drop us a column now and then — you can make Rice a more interesting place, get your face in the paper and a big, fat 10-dollar check for your hard work. And if beer money isn’t enough, I don’t know what is.
Evan Mintz is a Hanszen College junior and opinion and Backpage editor.
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