Last week, responses to an article I wrote titled “The Worst Generation,” took up the entire “letters to the editor” section for the second week in a row, so perhaps it is only fair I have a chance to respond to some points made in last week’s letters.
First of all, let us look at Mr. Russell’s claim that “after reading [my] article, [Russell] feels ashamed to be a member of the Quinnipiac community.”
It was my article that did that? That’s funny, because you know what made me ashamed to be a part of Quinnipiac? Basketball players “allegedly” assaulting girls. What about the removal of the WQAQ tower for superficial reasons? No less, Mr. Russell, it is a station in which you participate. What about overcrowding dorm rooms? What about the fact that students cannot use Visa cards to add money to their ‘Q-Cash’ account, despite the fact that Visa cards are issued out by TD Banknorth, the school’s on-site bank? How about Quinnipiac being listed as one of the most politically apathetic schools in the Northeast? And did you forget the obvious problem of parking? How about everything in this school being called Bobcat: that doesn’t infuriate you at all? Or perhaps spending millions to renovate the cafeteria and spending 10 times more on an arena, yet the school’s drama department presents plays in a theater that is inferior to Hamden High School’s.
Considering Mr. Russell was the assistant director of a play last year, it shocks me to believe that it was actually my article that caused him to “be ashamed to be a part of the Quinnipiac community.”
To his next point – a point that others have made as well -yes, I do “respect my elders.” I love my parents. In fact, in response to my article (yes, my parents read it), they simply rolled their eyes. They know I am grateful to have them as parents. So too I am very grateful to have met the professors I have had at this school.
But, you know what makes me really “ashamed to be a part of the Quinnipiac Community?” It is the fact that so many have locked their sense of humor in a glass jar and locked it tight never to let it out.
Honestly, who cares? I made fun of the baby boomers for not being able to use a DVD player, there are greater tragedies in the world. It was meant to be an overgeneralization! That was the point of the humor. Obviously I know who Steve Jobs and Bill Gates are and I too know that there are countless people aged 40 to 65 who know computers better than I do. And for Pete’s sake, I obviously don’t think they’re the worst generation. This is because after the responses I got from some students, I now think this generation is the worst. We’re the worst generation ever.
Do you think I really mean that when I say it? No, and I didn’t mean it before either.
Seriously though, we have lost our ability to see sarcasm and in turn have lost our ability to find humor. Was my piece politically incorrect? Probably. But asking The Chronicle or me to apologize for it is absurd. I think the school would probably agree with me as well, being that President Lahey cited that the school gives the “Fred Friendly First Amendment Award” in an interview on Q30 earlier this year. This is proof that the school supports free speech. So while I may not agree with what was said in some of the responses to my article, I will not apologize, instead I will simply say that we may differ in our opinions, but I think we can agree that we both have the right to say them.
