Free speech comes with a price

Recently, I facilitated several sessions on diversity for first-year students within the College of Textiles. I concluded each session with “We all bleed the same, so make a commitment to respect our humanness!” The challenge of the Free Expression Tunnel incident is the one of disrespect for humanity.

How have we become so insensitive to the humanity of others that we have allowed “free speech,” via a tunnel, to foster a campus climate whereby certain students are forced to live in fear? A student in a class I teach advised me the tension between his roommate was so thick after the election he had to sleep in a friend’s room.

My fellow Wolfpackers, free speech is never free! The price paid and being paid is to great an expense for those targeted by such vicious words. After almost 50 years of “free expression,” the time has arrived for discussion on the need for this type of expression. After all, doesn’t the Student Code of Conduct address the issue of defacing (i..e. graffiti) University property?

Edward J. Brown, Jr.

Director of Diversity Programs

College of Textiles – Dean’s Office

Move on past Free Expression Tunnel incident

I was walking down Dunn Avenue when I witnessed a heinous crime! Someone had written “John McCain” in blood red on a stop sign, obviously meaning “Stop John McCain.” As a fellow white male, this hate crime cannot go unpunished. I request, nay, I demand that the University and Chancellor Oblinger himself track down these terrorists and BANISH them from any N.C. State-affiliated property, including Amedeos, the RBC Center and Gumby’s Pizza.

I also demand that the University create an area that will allow students to freely express their opinions. Like on a wall, a big rock or a tunnel … yes, they could call it a Free Expression Tunnel!

Seriously, if I ran to the authorities every time I saw “F*** Sarah Palin”, or “George Bush Sucks” written on campus, I wouldn’t have a life. The Chancellor responded to it, the University painted it and it should all be done with. Let’s move on.

Matt Albrecht

senior, communication

UNC rivalry does exist

Ask any UNC fan who their rival university is and it wont take them long to answer Duke. Any mention of N.C. State will prompt typical conceited responses about our “redneck farmer school.” After citing any number of reasons for their supposed dominance over us, they firmly assert that they can not be rivals with such an “inferior” college.

Last night, some over-enthusiastic UNC fans found the time to drive 30 miles and paint our tunnel their hideous powder blue on a November night that dipped below 30 degrees. That’s pretty passionate fandom against a school that “isn’t your rival.” Did you caravan up to Charlottesville to vandalize UVA’s campus a week before that game?

The fact of the matter, UNC, is that we are rivals, and it’s blatantly obvious. What makes your reluctance to admit this even more ridiculous is the fact that you are stealing our traditions one by one. Our tunnel has been a site for individual expression since the 1960s. You’ve recently been pushing to have an ambiguous wall designated for graffiti art at UNC. This friday, you plan to host the first annual “Old Well Watch” in order to protect your revered water fountain from vandals. If this isn’t the most blatant ripoff of “The Ram Roast,” I don’t know what is.

If you really wanted to prove that we aren’t rivals, you’d stop stealing our traditions. What’s next, the Dunkin Donuts Challenge? We know you have no culture, but that doesn’t mean you have to steal ours.

David Higgins

freshman, plant biology

Stand up against Carolina blue in the tunnel

Woe to us, fellow N.C. State students! For the Free Expression Tunnel has once again been covered with messages of hate — this time from our rivals down the road.

Not content with merely painting their angry epithets, they insisted on taking pictures and publicizing their cowardly blue deed through Facebook and other message boards, leaving no doubt as to who is responsible.

I, as well as any other self-respecting NCSU student, am deeply offended by this. These messages show the greatest insensitivity to all of us and action should be taken immediately. I demand that UNC expel the students involved in this heinous act and criminal charges be brought against them for hate speech. We must schedule group therapy sessions for any of us who have been deeply scared by this event.

In addition, I urge the Student Senate to draft a bill condemning this act and prohibiting any further expression on our wall. Don’t those UNC students know that the Free Expression Tunnel isn’t actually “free” if you hurt people’s feelings?

John Mark Bojanski

senior, history

Apologies not enough – educate four students

Is the article “Four students apologize for Free Expression Tunnel incident” a joke? I don’t feel satisfied at all by this. They are apologizing two weeks after the incident and still not owning up to it by admitting their identities.

The students who did this are just going to say sorry and get on with their lives like nothing happened? Is that really how our University is going to deal with this? I am ashamed and disappointed. No, expulsion is not a proper punishment, but diversity workshops and community service are. It would show that the University is actively supporting diversity and combating ignorance. The ONE student who painted the tunnel should not be volunteering to do these things, ALL FOUR of the students should be forced to participate in workshops and service.

Julianna Pitts

senior, industrial design

The Real Baby Mama

As many college students near their final school days before the big graduation date, they often think about their futures and how their lives will continue on in the “real world”. Creating and having a family is a priority for several people; some couples prefer marrying and having children as soon as possible, while others want to wait for their careers and marriages to take off in the right direction before doing so. Either way, sometimes starting a family can be difficult due to infertility and/or health issues. Problems with producing children often lead to numerous types of medical treatment, different hormone therapies, but there is also another popular option for having a baby: hiring a surrogate mother.

Surrogate mothers in the United States are women who are hired and paid to carry the fetus for a certain family or couple. Fertility treatments are provided so that the surrogate mother is able to carry both the paying woman’s egg and the paying man’s sperm. It is also common for gay couples to hire a surrogate mother who is willing to use her own egg for the baby’s creation. In the Universal Studio film Baby Mama, which was shown on N.C. State’s campus, Amy Poehler stars as a surrogate mother and introduces the world of surrogacy’s ups and downs to the mostly unfamiliar public audience.

Although Baby Mama does briefly show how a surrogate mother is selected, it does not go into nearly enough detail with the specific processes the surrogate must take. Surrogacy is a serious process and all involved must go through a long and very particular procedure. The chosen surrogate mothers must agree to go through lengthy medical tests as well as psychological evaluations. Different states in the U.S. have different regulations of surrogates, but they are all very similar. To name a few of the requirements, the Surrogate Parenting Center of Texas states that a surrogate mother must be between the age of 21 and 35, a non-smoker, not receiving welfare, willing to attend counseling sessions, and free of all sexually transmitted diseases.

Baby Mama does not give surrogacy justice in showing how legal matters are handled either; papers are shown being signed, but that is about it. Surrogate mothers have meetings with attorneys and the intended parents to discuss what is best for all involved with regards to financial and legal decisions. The entire process for the surrogate mother is intended to make both parties feel comfortable and happy with the decisions they are making together.

With the previously mentioned faults of Baby Mama and its portrayal of surrogacy, it is fair to say that the film demonstrates the pros and cons of the practice well. The intended mother in the movie, Tina Fey, acts positively throughout the process, but she is truly saddened within because she is unable to give birth herself. Emotions and stakes are both high when something as serious as surrogacy is at hand, but it is important and necessary to realize that surrogacy is a way of expressing hope and help to those who long to have a family. Surrogate mothers often receive hurtful opinions of others about their decisions to have babies out of wedlock or for giving up something they have worked hard for. Women are privileged in the United States and have the right to perform surrogacy; surrogate mothers are helping, not hurting.

Krysta Jones

frehsman, english