UF-- editorial on recent issues
 

http://www.alligator.org/edit/opinio...1eddy1114.html


This was printed in today's edition of the Alligator... an independent student newspaper at the University of Florida.

I was just wondering what everyone thought about it.

Seems pretty much right on target to me.

Good article, but the Alligator is covering it's ass because some fraternities and sororities are now refusing to put ads in the Alligator because of the negative articles constantly published about Greek life... But they did manage to put a good spin on the story...made them seem rather noble and above everything, oh the ability of a good journalist!

That's kind of the same reaction I had. It's like "oh yeah, cover your butt NOW"... but then again, if bad things didn't happen, then they wouldn't have to report on it.

And there is the argument that they well, they don't report on good news. But that's just the nature of the business. How many times do you read about the good things that people do in your community? There are probably a few articles, but definitely not the huge headlines on the front page. Greeks do good things for the community, and it's expected... so they don't report on it because it's not out of the ordinary. When they do bad things, it gets the front page.

Gee, I notice that they had no trouble reiterating exactly which chapters committed the misdeeds, but when it came to the positives, it got distilled into a generice "many charitable services." Would it have killed them to have an example, like ZTA's work for women with breast cancer?

We all know that people hone in on things with the name attached, so IMO, this is just an excuse for them to reiterate the negative stories they've printed in the past.

As a late friend and television associate of mine used to say, "Some people would bitch if they hung them with a new rope."

Why not just appreciate that some good things were said. We sure complain enough when the news is bad.

Okay, time for a little Intro to Journalism here..

The EDITORIAL gives the paper's opinion. This editorial was not printed in order to give good PR to the greeks, so why would they include a mention of ZTA's work - or anybody else's - in it?

No newspaper offers "good press" as a headline. Look at the New York Times. How often do you see a tralala-type article on the front there!? Yeah, when there are PR companies involved, it makes the news...but that's another ballgame.

I think you guys are expecting too much of the ONE newspaper that UF has. It's too bad there has never been a paper who could come CLOSE to reporting like the Alligator does.

Sure, the greeks buy advertising - or, are boycotting right now - yeah, let's see how long THAT lasts - but the Alligator doesn't owe the greeks anything just because they buy ads.

That's unethical.

A newspaper reports the facts - and only in the opinion section, does it offer opinions.

The Alligator does an excellent job of reporting the facts. And they choose to report on stories that are news to UF. Now, as many of us know, there's not much happening at UF, so when something out of the ordinary DOES happen, it's on the front page of the Alligator.

Don't knock the Alligator because of what is NEWS. That's society. We love dirty laundry.

The people who should be KNOCKED are those who violate the policies and push the limits. They are the ones bringing unwanted attention to the greek community.

The greek community should take responsibility for THEMSELVES and stop trying to blame everyone else for their problems.

You should be thankful these articles rarely make your hometown newspaper. I wonder what all your mommies & daddies would say if they read the day-to-day of this latest scandal? Or, would they even care?


Respectfully submitted,
Annie
Kappa Delta Sorority alumna
UF College of Journalism graduate (TEL) 1989
(And btw, I was never an Alligator staff member)
Certified high school journalism teacher in the state of Florida since 1992

missing my point ENTIRELY
 

Yes, I REALIZE it's an editorial.

Yes, I REALIZE the paper has to print news stories when they happen.

So why are they re-printing news in an editorial? By reiterating what the various fraternities did, name by name, that's what they are doing. The "good things" mentioned in this article were reported with so little enthusiasm, why would anyone care? As opposed to the misdeeds...why do have a vision of a staffer yelling "stop the presses, we forgot to put in the part about the Vietnamese prostitutes!"

Either mention the names on both sides, or don't mention any at all. The article reads like one of those left-handed compliments - "Oh wow! You've lost TONS of weight, you'll be able to wear normal clothes now!" or "Gee, you're not the insufferable, pompous jerk I thought you were." I agree with UFRushee - this is an attempt to make them seem "noble" and reclaim ad dollars.

It's an editorial - an opinion. Well, the editorial in 33girl Daily says "This is a lame attempt."

oh and kdonline - the "mommies and daddies" comment was simply not necessary. You're in a forum of peers of various ages, not your classroom, so please cut the condescension.

uh... read a little deeper
 

Uh... the article is about the NEGATIVE attention greeks get. The headline is "A few bad apples: Attention-grabbing slip-ups overshadow Greek life."

So the editorial is about the NEGATIVE actions.

Personally, I don't think this editorial puts the Alligator in a better light for ad revenue. They're not at all - in fact, they are scolding the greeks once again.

All these fraternities screwed up again -- in just a year's time!? What's up with that!?

I think you're missing the editors' point entirely.

They just had to throw PIKE in there.......



They need to leave us alone....

I keep thinking that events we witness, might look so much worse on paper! Or as news. I mean the thing might even be very frivolous but just looks terrible when reported.

Does that happen Delta Alum and Kdonline?

It's not nearly as harsh as some I've seen...

That's the kicker, James...Anything could seem frivolous in the eyes of a few. And of course, seeing it in print is pretty darn sobering, isn't it?!

Now, how do you think the reporters find out about these events?

Gee, do you think the University calls the (fiercely) Independent Alligator? Uh...no.

Do you think an Alligator reporter just HAPPENED to be at all these places at the right time? No again.

Sure, there are the police reports, but let's use this Sigma Chi/Biker Bash thing as an example - how do you think the paper found out? The Theta house is not on sorority row, so there probably weren't any peeping GLOs..

So...then it must have been a tip! Someone called the paper! And who do you think called them? Who do you think calls them every time something negative happens? That's right - your brothers and sisters!

Now, I don't think that your brothers & sisters who narc on you deserve a beatdown. They're not the ones who should be punished.

Those who should be punished are those who bring shame to the organization....and ruin it for the rest of us.

Sure, I suspect it does. An example doesn't come to mind at the moment, though.

The thing it keeps coming back to is this. If there were no fire, there wouldn't be any smoke.

It is so easy -- almost to the point of cliche -- to say, "The nasty old Media is against (fill in the blank).

Here's a real simple rule: If you don't want bad publicity, don't do stuff to bring it on yourself.

Here's another: If you break the rules, you'll probably get caught.

And then, somebody will write about it, because it will be news.

A great explanation for why we have "bad press"...

Here's how the news works (as explained to me by a news station consultant)

Imagine you have a car and one of the tires goes flat... What is the story? The 3 wheels working just fine? Or the one that is flat?

Having never been a great fan of "News Doctors," but with due respect for Messrs Magid, McHugh and Hoffman (among others), that's pretty darn good.

Re: uh... read a little deeper
 

It's been a rough year. One after the other.

I clicked on the link and it doesn't work anymore...maybe they took the story down already?

As I recall EVERY year lately has been a rough year. It's just now that we're really seeing the results of new anti-hazing, anti-alcohol rules that HQ's and Universities have come up with. It'll eventually taper off (I hope)

Every year has been tough. I agree.

Unfortunately, the only way I see it "tapering off" is for members and chapters to stop openly breaking the rules, the law and being generally stubborn or dumb.

We're all sick of hearing about liability and risk management, but without taking them seriously, the Greek System has an excellent chance of being sued out of existance. That's why we're seeing the hazing and alcohol rules. In many cases, it's the reason the university administrations are turning against us. They don't want the liability either.

This isn't a game. It's real serious. It's survival.

Well I think it will. Cultures don't change overnight. This is why many fraternities have policies of waiting 3 or 4 years before allowing groups to reapply for a charter. This ensures that the new group will be able to form its own traditions and practices.

Unfortunately, I think that's what it needs to come to. If a chapter can't cut it and follow the laws of the land and the rules that they had the opportunity to create and influence at our Grand Chapter then they don't need a charter. Maybe someone a few years down the road can pick up where they left off.

I think if national organizations show they are serious about making their chapters follow the rules, university administrations will be more conducive to GLO's. Especially in schools that rely on donations, GLO members BY FAR give more money than those that were unafilliated.

This was a letter to the editor posted in today's paper about the article :

Alligator cowered to Greek community


Editor: The Alligator has finally left me scratching my head. No easy task either. When I saw the Alligator running a pro-Greek editorial I was aghast.

How can an "independent" organization such as this kowtow to this irresponsible minority?

Here's how the average UF student sees this situation. Out of the nearly 40,000 people on campus, a mere 5,000 are Greek. What they do is dominate the Student Government, garner all of the publicity not given to the athletics department and make a mockery of higher learning.

Rapes, assaults, exclusion and elitism are what the Greek system represents. Getting new recruits drunk? That's fine by me. What isn't is the stupidity involved with making them violently ill so they have to go to the emergency room and get bad publicity thrust upon them.

Sure, some might do good things for the community, but when it is all said and done, these kids will have no knowledge. They will return to their hometowns where their parents will have them set up in cushy jobs with no accountability.

Lack of brainpower and abuse of privilege. Sound familiar? It should to the Alligator.

Great letter.

A major point left out: many many greeks never graduate from UF. Greeks, as a whole, might have good GPAs, but there are plenty who drop out and/or transfer - their GPAs are not high enough to get into their upper division College.

And as for those cushy jobs...well, not ALL of us are so lucky to have those waiting for us back home! ;)

My GPA wasn't bad. I decided to transfer because I wasn't focusing on school. I partied way too much, every night except sunday. It seemed like my goal everynight was to get wasted and laid. When I got tired of a$$, I slept and chilled with my boys.


After 4 years of that crapp, I decided it's time to finish school.


As for a cushy job, I like to think of myself as independent. I live only on what my parents give me and ask for nothing more. Somtimes my mother decides to "bless" my bank account, I'm never one to turn down god's blessings......

That's nice that you decided to confess to everyone on GC.

But I wasn't talking about you specifically. I suppose you DO fall into that category, since admit to being at UF for 4 years & did not get a degree.

Since we're confessing, then I might as well add: I always thought it was weird when 23-25 year olds would still be partying with collegians, who are mostly in the 18-19 age range. I guess it's easy pickings for some, if that's all that their life is about.

Then again, when I was 23 & met a guy my age or older who hadn't finished his undergrad degree...well, I wouldn't bother with him. Good looks & all the "perks" are everywhere in Miami - this describes about 90% of the men down here. But to find someone who is intellectually equal - this is very rare. Ironically enough, I married a Los Angeles boy - probably the only other place in the US that compares to Miami!

Ah...but I digress from the topic at hand...