DISCOURSE
- Athletes to make strong showing in Ô08 Editorial
- Social monitoring of online videos could have saved lives Editorial
- Writers' strike a perfect chance to rethink programming Ace Stryker
- Don't balk at tuition hike before you consider positive outcomes Sarah Paulk
- Letters to the Editor
Athletes to make strong showing in '08
Editorial
It's shaping up to be a less-than-stellar year for UNF athletics.
The volleyball team closed its season last week with a loss to cross-town rival Jacksonville University and a final record of 4-26.
Men's soccer dropped their last game and consequently their last shot at a winning season, finishing 8-9 for the year.
Women's soccer won its last game in a double-overtime nail-biter, but still had nothing better to show than a 7-11-2 record.
After results like that, any decent administration would be compelled
to look for holes in the program and fix them.
Sports is a numbers-driven industry, and if the teams aren't producing the kind of results the school is looking for, the natural response is to question whether the players, the coaching staff, and the program as a whole are up to snuff.
But it's important that our Athletics Department powers-that-be should not be too hasty when considering mixing it up.
It's important to remember the context in which these numbers were produced, and all the elements that can't be quantified and laid out on
a spreadsheet, and soften the blows
accordingly.
This is the third year of the school's transition to Division I
athletics.
The Ospreys necessarily entered the competition at the bottom of the totem pole and are having to work their way up. Shaky results are to be expected in the beginning.
Granted, there are schools like Florida Gulf Coast University, which in its first year of D-I play finished at the top of the conference in volleyball and tied for second in women's soccer. But what that school is trying to accomplish is entirely different than the approach UNF is taking.
FGCU's strategy is to pull in a lot of high-talent transfers and inflate their numbers in the early years of D-I competition.
UNF, on the other hand, is taking the slow-but-steady course involving building teams from the ground up, investing in a lot of young talent in the hopes that it will make for a
stronger program in the long run.
Making drastic changes to the program at this point in its development would be a catastrophe.
Clearly it's irrational to advocate that the school stay on board a sinking ship as it descends below
the murky waters of athletic
irrelevance, but UNF has a few more years of growing into the new level
of play before anyone can say that
is happening.
Forget the numbers and chalk it up to lessons learned in the athletic school of hard knocks.
The teams did not improve their records over the seasons, but demonstrated an improvement in field chemistry and coordination - invaluable areas that can be built upon in off-season training.
As the coaches continue to help players improve, administration and students should expect to return from summer vacations to enjoy a year of excitement in UNF athletics.
Social monitoring of online videos could have saved lives
Editorial
We've all spent hours on the Internet phenomenon YouTube, watching funny videos featuring talking cats, Britney Spears' awful VMA
performance, and clips from our favorite movies.
But what would you do if you stumbled upon a video of someone saying they were going to kill himself or someone else? Would you contact authorities? Would you alert YouTube's operators? Should that be your responsibility?
A man in Central Florida posted a video on YouTube giving his last will and testament before swallowing a large amount of prescription pills. Roughly five hours after the video was posted, a viewer in New York saw it and contacted the Orlando Police department to alert them of the threat he had seen via Internet.
Police went to the man's home, and after no response, they broke in and found him unresponsive. He was transported to the hospital and later to a rehab facility.
Not everyone is lucky enough to receive help in time.
A high school student in Finland shot and killed seven schoolmates and one teacher before turning the gun
on himself.
It was discovered soon after the shooting that the student had posted several videos on YouTube showing off his guns, reciting a violent
manifesto, and warning viewers
that he was going to attempt a
school shooting.
The YouTube terms of use state that the company is not liable for personal injury or property damage resulting from content on the
Web site.
But the guidelines for posting on YouTube prohibit showing animal abuse, drugs, bomb making, graphic or gratuitous violence, or predatory behavior, such as harassment or threats.
Doing so could result in removal
of the video or termination of
user's account.
Unfortunately, in the aforementioned cases, YouTube had no idea those videos had been posted, and it was not until the clips received media attention that they were addressed.
If the company cares enough to post terms of use and guidelines regarding what can be posted on its Web site, it should take an active role in monitoring content and working to prevent these kinds of incidents in the first place.
Anyone with unlimited Internet access can view YouTube videos and be exposed to harmful clips that could spawn copycat incidents.
The negligence YouTube displays in its failure to sufficiently monitor these posts sends others a chilling message that users can get away with broadcasting almost anything.
Furthermore, YouTube users need to exercise more social responsibility and report suspicious or harmful videos they see to authorities.
Even if a video might seem like
a joke, think about the horrible
repercussions that could arise
from silently standing by and failing to act.
There's no harm in having a hateful, harmful or scary video removed, even if it's not real.
You could be saving someone's life or preventing a tragedy.
Writers' strike a perfect chance to rethink programming
Staff Opinion
Writers across America are trading in their pens for picket signs, and your primetime viewing is in jeopardy.
Beginning shortly after midnight Nov. 5, about 12,000 members of the Writers Guild of America officially went on strike, effectively halting the progress of any TV show with more scripting than FOX's new fall reality spectacle, "Survivor XXVII: Six Kids in a Room Fight Over Which Yu-Gi-Oh Monster Could Totally Rack Spider-Man."
The results could be catastrophic for viewers across all demographics. Imagine: "CSI" without the absurdly labyrinthine plot where the stray pubic hair saves the day; "Desperate Housewives" without the convoluted banter between spoiled socialites about a certain secret pregnancy; "The Office" without the sexual tension between coworkers exploited to awkward-yet-uproarious extents - primetime television could be headed for a real dead zone, no pun intended.
The last time this happened, it cost the entertainment industry an estimated $500 million before the union and networks reached an agreement.
To avert certain cataclysmic effects in the lives of network execs, writers, and, most of all, the poor schmoes at home who need nothing more than the assurance that "Bionic Woman" will continue to beam merrily into their homes without the need to get up from the beanbag chair, I offer
a suggestion.
Give me a shot at it. Seriously, I'll get it done dirt cheap. You can even pay me in those smarmy hors d'oeuvres you have on set as I work.
As a writer, I certify that as I spin my brilliant yarns of drama and comedy, of cop shows and coming-of-age narratives, viewers will no longer be subjected to any of the following: vapid, droning conversations thinly veiled as witty banter between pretentious yuppie twentysomethings in clothing stores, diners, or on city sidewalks; people eating maggots, animal excrement, or anything containing the word "predigested," "curdled," or "smegma"; and anything - and I mean ANYTHING - with Rosie O'Donnell
in it.
In fact, to save even more money, I've got several great ideas about how we can merge two mediocre shows into one blockbuster while we're at it.
- "Lost" and "Scrubs": A group of zany young doctors runs around a mysterious island, dodging secret government project representatives and stray polar bears. If the murderous smoke monster ever catches up with them, they can just relieve the tension via random uncommitted sex with one another or side-splitting
daydream digressions featuring
musical numbers!
- "Smallville" and "Battlestar Galactica": Clark Kent - real name Kal-El, native of Krypton - is out patrolling the skies when what should happen but his long-lost brother, Steve-El, flashes across the horizon, hotly pursued by Admiral Adama and the gang! Steve is wanted for intergalactic male prostitution, and Clark must now make a choice between family and justice, all while avoiding the amorous advances of Cyclon Number Six - dicey!
- "Nip/Tuck" and "Friday Night Lights": Drs. McNamara and Troy's move to the West Coast didn't quite pan out like they'd planned, so they pack it up again and move to Texas to take an interim job patching up high school football players. Unbeknownst to the players, the doctors are bitter with failure and looking for an outlet for their rage. The first episode climaxes when the star quarterback wakes up from a drug-induced sleep to find his teeth and toenails have switched places.
- "Prison Break" and "Hannah Montana": This one could be cool - use your imagination. I'll give you a start: Hannah fashioning her toothbrush into a shank while singing "Gonna Cut Me a Mofo," anyone?
- "Family Guy" and "SpongeBob SquarePants": Now the kids can enjoy their favorite pineapple-under-the-sea-living poriferan while also learning about AIDS, anti-Semitism and marital infidelity. It's a match made in heaven - or one that's likely to lead your children to the Heaven's Gate cult, anyway.
So what's the message here? Yeah, I might have some great ideas. They might also institutionalize any kids that happen to watch them, or get the networks and me sued so far into the red that entertainment will be beamed straight into people's heads before we get back out.
Support your writers, folks. They are the unheralded virtuosos behind the shows you bump your friends off your schedule to go home and watch.
While I might not buy into everything I watch on TV, there's enough great content out there to realize its progenitors deserve more than just crumbs from the great big pie of
TV revenue.
Let the powers that be know that you're willing to wait for as long as it takes for the men and women who unfailingly provide us with laughter, tears and lessons week after week to be sufficiently compensated.
Contact Ace Stryker at discourse@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Don't balk at tuition hike before you consider positive outcomes
Student Opinion
Starting next spring, students at Florida universities and community colleges will face a 5 percent tuition increase.
Gov. Charlie Christ vetoed a budget-cutting bill that passed by a wide majority in both the state House and Senate, so every University of North Florida student with an average course load is going to be shelling out an extra $55 per semester.
More fees for poor college students always sounds excessive, but before you get out the tar and feathers, it's important to consider why lawmakers in both of the state's chambers have approved such a measure.
Basically, Florida's budget is all out of whack because people aren't buying
enough houses and refrigerators. Now here's how it affects us: 75 percent of the state's annual recurring income - something to the tune of a cool $20 billion - comes from collected sales taxes.
So when the people and friendly tourists of Florida cut back on spending, the state government needs to do the same or we could go into debt.
Overall, the bill cuts $1 billion from the state's $71 billion budget, a reduction achieved partly by slashing $114 million from funds marked for Florida's public universities and
community colleges.
The 5 percent tuition hike was added in an attempt to offset the slash, as it will create about $20 million in revenue per semester. In fact, Mark Rosenberg, state university system chancellor, welcomed the bill as part of a solution for universities facing poor student-teacher ratios, insufficient faculty paychecks and ever-increasing class sizes.
In opposition of the measure, Rep. Curtis Richardson, D-Tallahassee, says it makes higher education "more unaffordable" for working families.
But at $3.68 per credit hour, Rep. Marti Coley, R-Marianna, says that the 5 percent tuition increase will cost less than a McDonald's value meal. On top of that, Florida university tuition is already the third lowest
in the nation and less than half the
national average, according to the College Board's "Trends in College Pricing 2006" report.
The tuition hike of 5 percent isn't going to make student's wallets very happy this spring, but in the long run, it's a good solution to the financial
difficulties the otherwise stellar Florida university system is facing.
Contact Sarah Paulk at discourse@unfspinnaker.com -- PERMALINK -- TOP OF PAGE
Letters to the Editor
Students' apathetic attitudes on Veterans Day disappointing
Dear Editor,
After reading the responses to the Nov. 7 "Question of the Week: What does Veterans Day mean to you?" I am disappointed with some of the responses from my peers.
I hope these answers were not directed toward the men and women who have served or who are serving in our military.
Although most people in this country have family or know someone who has served, it is obvious that not everyone understands or appreciates the sacrifices made to defend this country.
There are thousands of stories about servicemen and women who have committed their lives to maintaining the freedom of our nation.
It upsets me there are still people
who think of Veterans Day as
meaning "nothing."
For some, the holiday might mean a day off from classes, but to the troops who have given their lives and to all of those who are supposed to be honored by this holiday, it lets them know that their sacrifices are appreciated.
President Bush said of Veterans Day: "Our veterans have borne the costs of America's wars and have stood watch over America's peace.
And today, every veteran can be certain: The nation you served and the people you defended are grateful." I hope the majority of us are grateful.
Justin Melquist
Junior, Political Science
Lack of premium spaces behind Bldg. 14 still an inconvenience
Dear Editor,
I was searching through some old Spinnaker information online and I came across an Aug. 22 article about the designated parking spaces in the lot behind Bldg 14.
I wanted to congratulate you on the very good idea of using some sort of evaluation system to see if all those spots are necessary.
I also liked the little blurb here: Fix; If the university removes a service to its students, it should offer a substitute for the disappearance.
Administration should designate additional spaces near the building for students.
I wanted to let you know I agree with you 100 percent on this issue.
It's not just the student employees who need the parking, but also
university employees in Buildings 5 and 6 who cannot afford the
designated decals.
We too, have to park clear across campus and run to get to work on time. Thank you again for your bold statement on this issue.
Erica Nichols
Office Assistant,
Division of Physical Facilities