March 11, 2011 OPINION 3

‘Day of Peace’ ridiculous

Hipster conspiracy strikes with absurd declaration of kindness and peace
By KATIE McHUGH Is it a crime to notice? like me, who are comfortable

Graphic and quote courtesy of ‘Day of Peace’ Facebook page

Guest Columnist
On March 4, hipsters and
hipster sympathizers every-
where united for “a day of
peace” much to the annoy-
ance of normal people, cool
people and people who prop-
erly capitalize words.
They want to create as big
an impact as possible with
their noble goal of “making
the world a little more bear-
able.”
Yes, the glorious goal of
not going out of one’s way to
trip someone or make fun of
them is indeed laudable and
the whole world should hail.
Who do hipsters think
they are?
Are they just always this
miserable?
Why do they have to in-
flict well-balanced people
Politically incorrect jokes
make me laugh.
But I guess I’ll have to so-
ber up and take life more seri-
ously, like a hipster.
Those people are obvious-
ly the epitome of clearhead-
ed, somber stoicism.
“Show everyone we cross
paths with some genuine hu-
man compassion. Be it with
a smile or kind words, just
spread some love.”
Yeah, I think I’ll skip smil-
ing cheerily at the creep leer-
ing at me from across McKin-
ley’s and the driver who
almost runs me over at the
crosswalk.
“Make not one person the
exception to the rule. Not ev-
eryone deserves to have roses
thrown at their feet and have
a holiday in their honor, but
nobody deserves to feel alone.
with the hatred embedded
deep in the fiber of their be-
ing.
“A day of hate” was held
in our honor. The introduc-
tion to the day of hate reads
as follows:
“I have an idea for a day
of war. a day where everyone
just hates everyone else and
kills each other. a day where
we ignore any instilled moral
values and go primal on ev-
eryone’s ass.”
Tell me more!
“Call everyone rude names
and use every obscene word
you know... often.”
Sounds like a normal day
to me so far…how “ironic.”
“Fight. A lot. Use nun-
chuks, swords, hammers,
slingshots, whatever. Just try
to make everyone bleed all
over the place. I’m too lazy

Graphic and quote courtesy of ‘Day of War’ Facebook page

with their lame and solipsis-
tic philosophizing?
Here are their three rules
guaranteed to better the
plight of man:
“Say not a single unkind
thing about anyone or any-
thing. If at all possible, try not
to even think a nasty thought.
If we do, reflect on why it
was that we thought to say it
in the first place.”
Listen, if I refrained from
thinking unkind or unpleas-
ant thoughts, I’d have no
brain activity beyond that of
a comatose slug.
I’m human.
My flaws are clear to me
and so are other people’s.
Reach out. Talk to someone
new. Care about them, and
we will be cared for in re-
turn.”
Okay, hipsters.
Maybe you guys haven’t
heard, but no one owes any-
one anything.
So some people feel lonely.
That’s so sad!
Maybe we could “raise
awareness” for them and
their sadness.
Let’s have “a day of sad-
ness” in which we march
down Brooks walk crying
quietly to ourselves while lis-
tening to Spoon.
Fortunately, the internet
has its fair share of people
to go make more rules. FUCK
the ‘a day of peace’ event go-
ing around. We’re humans,
dammit, and we aren’t made
to be accepting.”
That’s right. I celebrated
“a day of hate” by doing what
I always do: not wearing
80’s style glasses, listening to
bands people have heard of,
not having enough money to
buy a MacBook but enough
to buy normal shoes, and just
enjoying my life as an ele-
ment of the anti-hipster por-
tion of healthy society.
Katie McHugh is a member
of the class of 2013. She can
be reached at mchughk@
allegheny.edu.

College needs collaboration E D I

By JINNIE TEMPLIN tion to the problem doesn’t
Guest Columnist accomplish anything.
I might feel better, but ev-
We’ll probably always eryone else who is feeling the
complain about minor Al- way I am is still upset, and
legheny irritants – the ridicu- whatever happened is prob-
lous work load, the less-than- ably going to continue hap-
ideal weather and how much pening until we take mean-
money we spend to come ingful action to put a stop to
here. it.
But far too often, I hear I use the word “we” here
students complaining about not just to indicate the stu-
serious issues, like housing, dents, but administrators and
diversity, hate crimes, van- students working together.
dalism and theft, all of which If students have problems,
have been major points of un- we’re tempted to think that
rest during the past academic we can’t fix them ourselves
year. because eventually the big
There seems to be a dis- decisions rest on the shoul-
connect somewhere. If you ders of someone higher up.
leave all the hard work for And even when adminis-
someone else, you might not trators recognize what some
like what they come up with. of the major issues are, they
So as easy as it is to sit may come up with solutions
around and bash the admin- that don’t necessarily address
istration for screwing up your the aspects of these issues that
life, they’re not the only ones we students find most irritat-
to blame. ing.
We need to start acting as Just because you’re not be-
a community and collaborat- ing tested or writing a 10-page
ing in order to address the essay doesn’t mean every ex-
things about Allegheny that perience you have here is any
truly irk us. less important than those you
If I were to go into Presi- have in the classroom.
dent Mullen’s office and tell If you value your time
him that I’m sincerely dis- here at all, you can’t rely on
turbed with the recent hate somebody else to make the
crimes on campus, I’m sure decisions that influence the
he’d agree and sympathize way you’re going to live the
with me. But while I might next four years of your life.
leave his office feeling mo- In Tippie, on the balcony
mentarily placated, I haven’t above the reception desk,
really changed much. you’ll find these words: “The
Yes, it is important to only owners of Allegheny
communicate our concerns College are the alumni. There
to administrators, but doing is no city, state, or profession
so without suggesting a solu- to worry about us. We are all
A DVE R T IS E M E N T
there is. If we don’t do it, no
one else will.” - David Hoag,
‘60.
Whether we’re ready to
accept it or not, we are the
future alumni of this col-
lege. It’s up to us, all of us, to
make things the way we want
them.
You can choose to coast
through your years at Allegh-
eny and ignore campus dra-
ma, but I don’t think I know
anyone who has successfully
been able to do this.
I do know students who
have worked diligently to
rectify some of Allegheny’s
most upsetting aspects and
incidents, and if you’re one of
those students, I applaud you.
I don’t intend to insult
anyone who isn’t in this pre-
vious category; rather, I want
to suggest an alternative way
to address problems that will
hopefully make your time
here more fruitful and enjoy-
able.
Allegheny’s not perfect
and neither is life.
But if we want to make
our school a better place, as
cliché as that might sound,
we all better damn well step
up to the challenge and make
the effort.
We’re a community of cre-
ative, logical and passionate
thinkers, and we need to start
acting like it.
Jinnie Templin is a member
of the class of 2011. She
can be reached at templij@
allegheny.edu.
Last Friday, we all re-
ceived a strongly worded e-
mail from Joseph DiChris-
tina, Dean of Students.
The subject line: Impor-
tant Campus Alert.
The first line: IMPOR-
TANT CAMPUS ALERT.
And it was important.
With the memory of the
slur found in Walker just
four weeks ago still fresh
in our minds, here was a
“a repeat of an incident in-
volving a homophobic slur
defacing College property.”
DiChristina didn’t mince
words or dance around this
issue. This was not just an
act of vandalism: it was a
hate crime.
Think back to the after-
math of the first incident.
The slur was found on Feb-
ruary 11. An official state-
ment from the administra-
tion didn’t pop up in our
inboxes until February 23.
Then, it took twelve days
before we had any sort of
official reassurance or re-
sponse. This time, with the
second incident, it took less
than twenty-four hours.
Then, people were con-
fused about what happened,
what to do and how to re-
spond. This time, we had a
strongly worded message
explicitly referring to the
incident as a hate crime and
offering a list of resources
from which students could
seek support.
Then, it seemed like
we, as a community, might
The Campus welcomes all reader response. We reserve the right to reject or edit letters
not meeting standards or space requirements (maximum 400 words). The deadline for
submission for letters is 5 p.m. the Sunday before publication. Letters must be typed,
signed and sent to Box 12, with a phone number included for verification. All questions
should be directed to Alexandra Jaffe, editor-in-chief.
T O R
choose to turn our eyes to
the ground and let the issue
pass. This time, it felt like
we were finally beginning to
stand up.
It didn’t end with the e-
mail. Administrators began
to meet to discuss ways to
publicly address the issue.
Forums for discussion are
in the works for after spring
break.
And maybe you’ve been
invited on Facebook to the
“March Against Hate” next
Wednesday at 8 p.m., start-
ing on the Gator Quad.
It’s not simply an expres-
sion of frustration and anger
over recent event. Accord-
ing to the event description,
it’s a march “to take back our
campus.”
“We are going to march
to show that we can make
[our campus] our home,” the
description reads, “and that
this is a community of love.”
At the time of writing,
209 people had clicked “I’m
Attending.” 137 more had
said maybe.
That’s wonderful. But we
aren’t writing to them.
We’re writing to the 623
people invited that still have
yet to reply, and the over
1,000 other students who
never got invited at all.
There’s a silent majority
who we have faith won’t
stand for hate on their cam-
pus.
We have faith that they,
like DiChristina in his e-
mail, do not “tolerate ho-
EDITORIAL POLICY
I A
mophobia or any kind of
L
harassment.”
We have faith that they,
like the attendees of the
march, want to take back
our campus.
We have faith that they,
like Dr. Ryan Singh Paul
in his February 25 letter to
the editor, wish to send the
message that “this aggres-
sion will not stand.”
It’s our community. The
administration can make
statements, investigate inci-
dents and vow that “anyone
found to have committed
such acts on our campus
will be held accountable.”
The alumni can donate, but
they still involve them-
selves from afar. We, the
students, make Allegheny
College what it is. And we
have the power to make it
what want.
And we have faith that,
by and large, we students,
from the most impassioned
to the most silent, want a
campus free of the blemish
of hate.
And we have faith that,
upon graduation, we want
to leave a legacy of toler-
ance, not a legacy of si-
lence.
The administration has
spoken. The marchers will
chant. And if you can’t be
with them in person, at
least be with them in spirit.
Don’t let a hateful word on
a piece of paper define your
community. Get out there
and define it yourself.

STATEMENT OF COMMUNITY
Allegheny students and employees are committed to creating an inclusive, respectful
and safe residential learning community that will actively confront and challenge
racism, sexism, heterosexism, religious bigotry, and other forms of harassment and
discrimination. We encourage individual growth by promoting a free exchange of
ideas in a setting that values diversity, trust and equality. So that the right of all to
participate in a shared learning experience is upheld, Allegheny affirms its commitment
to the principles of freedom of speech and inquiry, while at the same time fostering
responsibility and accountability in the exercise of these freedoms. This statement does
not replace existing personnel policies and codes of conduct.