Op-Ed
Hate Mail: Greatest Hits
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The past year has been an interesting one. One filled with new experiences, new friends and new challenges. While writing for The Sun has not been a challenge per say, the feedback from my columns has kept me on my toes. Whether you call it “hate mail,” “constructive criticism” or crazy anonymous postings on The Sun website, I cherish every last one. Here are some of my favorites:
• “For now, ‘moderates’ should give up already on recruiting real decision-makers into their semi-gelatinous band of droning, impotent, spineless, finger-pointing echinoderms.”
• “This girl is way off, I wrote a blog about it: http://wharfandweft.blogspot.com/2006/10/faith-based-initiative.html.”
• “First off, stop being conservative. You’re female and in college. If you get knocked up, you’ll regret that stance immediately. Second, women don’t get elected because the whole country is sexist and racist, and no one likes being bossed around by a chick.”
• “My choice for the three best role models from the six women listed in your article would be Sandra Day O’Connor, Britney Spears and Paris Hilton. Here’s my real-life logic. Sandra (choice #1) is a natural; no problem there. Condi and Nancy, on the other hand, sacrificed their virtue upon the alter of ambition. A lot of people died because of their willingness to look the other way, so that rules them out. Both Britney and Lindsay have a substance abuse problem, but news accounts suggest that Britney’s problem is only that of being an exhibitionist drunk. Lindsay’s problem appears to be far more serious, thereby making Britney (choice #2) the lesser of the two evils. We are left with Paris, who is choice #3 because, although both she and Britney are exhibitionist drunks, at least Britney does not appear to be both a promiscuous and exhibitionist drunk. Additionally, Britney was a Mouseketeer, which has to count for something.”
Clearly, there have been many other gems. I have been called out in classes, yelled at in the Palms and stopped on Ho Plaza. Some comments have been hurtful and some completely unnecessary, yet some have made me reconsider my arguments and positions on both political and social issues. When I started writing this column, I told Carlos that I wanted to make people think, not make people angry. I wanted to add to the conservative discourse at Cornell (what little there is) and offer another point of view for Cornellians who are not familiar with ideas outside of the liberal agenda.
Over and over again during my four years at Cornell, I have been disappointed by the University’s commitment to intellectual diversity. Racial, sexual, ethnic diversity, all of these abound. But students with conservative ideologies are continually marginalized. At an institute of higher learning, this seems to be self-defeating. How can you learn to defend your beliefs and ideals if they are never challenged? If nothing else, Cornell has given me an arena to test out my ideas and arguments, making them stronger in the long run. I’ve debated Cornell’s best and brightest liberals in classes, in student groups and even among my friends. But most students are denied the opportunity to solidify their positions on topics ranging from global warming to the abortion debate, because they are so seldom in contact with non-liberals at Cornell.
The case of Prof. Jeremy Rabkin is a terrific example. Cornell boasted one conservative professor in the Government department. ONE!, which is appalling enough in and of itself, but then, the administration did nothing to thwart his departure. How can students expect to receive a complete and well-rounded education when only one side of the issues is being presented? Especially within the Government department? Apparently the administration thinks fostering intellectual diversity is as important as having an engaging Convocation speaker. Not at all. Yet I’ve made it through. I will finish my four years with my conservative ideology intact, and maybe I will have painted a little bit of Ithaca “conservative red” in the meantime. Cornell didn’t break me, no matter how hard it tried.
As Erin Geld ’07 noted in her last column, the world of a Sun columnist is an isolated one. I’m not sure who my readers are, just that most of them don’t agree with me. But some of my readers have offered me new and exciting experiences because of my work for The Sun. I have engaged in discourse with professors on campus, gone to office hours to defend myself, been asked to speak at clubs and meetings, been on television, been the subject of a blog, been asked to join a society or two. And hey, if nothing else, writing for The Sun has given me an excellent cache of writing samples for job applications.
So a huge thank you to all of my liberal readers who stuck with me, despite our disagreements. And thank you to my more supportive readers as well. Carlos you’ve been terrific. And Olivia, thanks for putting up with me. Thank you to my professors and classmates for offering countless examples and article topics. 301 LOVE, I know you don’t actually read my articles, but thanks all the same. To Chris, my most faithful reader, thank you. And a special thank you to my Mom and Dad who proofread every single article, multiple times, until I no longer needed to be censored.
Hannah Stearns is a senior in the College of Arts and Sciences. She can be reached at hes32@cornell.edu. Paint the Town Red appeared alternate Mondays.
yes and no
I took a class with you. I had an abortion. I would be scared to tell you that in person for fear of how scathing your words would be because ironically it was right around the time of your column that ended with - abortion, my friends, is murder - or something very close to that. At this point, I regret our choice, as does the father, but at the time we didn't know that. When you're choosing between bad and worse things get dicey. Only because this is an anonymous post am I willing to say that you do come off as scary with how you portray your views. I would've expected to be in a ball crying if you knew what I had done, and yet I already end up in that ball enough on my own from the guilt of knowing I ended my child's life. I happen to politically agree with you in many stances, but I still feel that women should be able to choose what's right for them without the government putting religious ideals into the laws it creates. While in my case it caused many other medical problems, for many women it allows them to live the life that they planned instead of the one which might have caused immeasurable sacrifice and pain (it's hard to think of a baby in those terms, but there are people who are just not equipped with what's necessary to adequately raise a child today). So in terms of hate mail, it's good that they were willing to stand up to you, I would've never had the will after meeting you.
The government isn't putting
The government isn't putting religious ideals into abortion any more than when they punish people for murder, or for that matter, for stealing, for parking tickets, or for any other crime. We make people take responsibility for other things they do - why not sex? Why should you get to just flush a fetus away because you screwed up?
If you have sex, you should realize what the consequences of that may be. (And since you're a Cornell student, I don't think ignorance is an excuse). Because you talk about the father and his involvement, I'll assume it wasn't rape. So if you are choosing to have sex, then you need to accept the consequences should you get pregnant. Use a condom, use birth control (which abortion is not, and should not be used as), use whatever you want but realize that there is still a chance you might get pregnant. You can't ever really be prepared for an unexpected pregnancy, especially at this point in our lives, but you have to at least consider the possibility that you are doing something that might result in a baby. If you're not ready for that, maybe you're not ready to have sex.
Great column Hannah - I actually agreed with most of what you said and really enjoyed reading it.
Not to worry
1. With few exceptions, universities (students, faculty, admin) are extremely liberal compared to normal citizens
2. If what is meant by diversity is forced tolerance, there is a lot of diversification pressure in college
3. All of your attitudes will moderate over time, especially after accounting for large the piece of your life taken away by taxes (If you think grading is unfair, just wait..)
You posted a link to a blog
You posted a link to a blog that completely refuted one of your columns as part of your "hate" mail. I guess you like being proven completely wrong and I find that refreshing in today's world of egoistical opinion columnists.
In most subjects a
In most subjects a professor's political beliefs have little if any relevance to the course material. It is a red herring to claim that ideological diversity increases the quality of education. That is, of course, unless you are in a major where what you learn strongly overlaps with a professor's political opinions. In that case, I would seriously question spending $30,000-$40,000 a year to get a degree in that field, as you will graduate with few marketable skills regardless of the professor's political persuasion.
Good Luck & God Bless!
We'll miss ya, señorita.
Loved your columns & always appreciated your ability to go between and beyond politics as usual.
Now go make America proud.
=)
(And don't forget to visit, eh?)
need more editors
It's per se (as in Latin through itself) not per say.
If you've made it all the way through college without using a paper dictionary, learn to use dictionary.com at the very least.
'95 alum
Seriously--per say?
Seriously--per say?