To Whom It May Concern,
Given the recent controversy The Rotunda is facing after the publication of the article, "Did You Know? Having Sex On Your Period Can End It Sooner", I wanted to make a simple statement as an avid reader.
First, I think it is polite to state that causing offense was of course not your intention when publishing the article. However, being a strict advocate of first amendment rights all I have to say is I will be disappointed if any APOLOGY is issued in response to the backlash that the article has received. I have recently been concerned about The Rotunda's level of integrity given the proposal of a tabloid style. I can confidently say that any apology would destroy any integrity The Rotunda does have in my eyes.
At the end of the day, journalism is meant to inform and raise issues within a democratic society such as ours. That's what you all at The Rotunda did by publishing said article and I for one think every single member or your organization should be extremely proud for accomplishing that. You have nothing to be sorry for.
Hopefully, this is nothing that I had to tell you in the first place. Thank you for being a beacon of democracy on our campus.
Sincerely,
John McCullough
Dear Longwood Rotunda staff/editors:
My name is Tara Carr and I graduated from Longwood University in 2011. I wrote for The Rotunda all four years and wrote a relationship advice column for three years. I'm a writer. I get it. But I am very disappointed in the publication of this article. This is not something that makes me proud as an alum. I like to look back and think, "Aw man, they're doing so well". And I usually can say that... this was not one of those times.
When I came to Longwood in 2007 The Rotunda was a joke. It was garbage. But I watched it grow into a respected newspaper that students and faculty/staff alike picked up on the regular (and actually read!). When I wrote Sex in the Ville, I wrote about relationships (and sometimes sex) in a tasteful way. Every writer is different, but this article was written for shock factor, not to speak out about an issue students face or want to discuss (in my opinion). Yes, it is an opinion article, but it is not a Tumblr entry or a text message to your friend. I have been in the basement of the union, shoving pizza in my face and writing/editing articles and working on the layout... but I still can't believe the editors thought this was a good idea. And as for Kandi Cane, if you are not bold enough to own your material and must hide behind a pen name, then you shouldn't be writing/publishing it. I'm all for expressing yourself and talking about hot-button issues, but this was just disgusting and trashy. Please submit this as a writing sample in a job interview and tell me how it works out for you. Just remember to always respect yourself, your newspaper, and your institution. Good luck on the rest of your semester.
Longwood Rotunda,
I am Donald Knight, alumnus and former SGA and Student Body President of Longwood University. I am speaking from a reader’s standpoint, as an alumnus, and as a leader who has served Longwood University and its students faithfully for four years from 2009-2013. I read last week's opinion piece, "Did You Know? Having Sex while on your Period can End it Sooner?” and quite frankly it is absolutely inappropriate. I can obviously only speak for myself and hope that others feel the same way I do, which I have come to find out that a lot of them do. I am disappointed that the audience, your readers, had to be subjected to what I call “pornography on paper”. As a person and as a reader, I stress disappointment because I have an expectation of accountability and discipline in the student body. I expect good writing, with worthwhile content, that everyone can read and be proud of because that directly reflects upon the standards of education and values we have at Longwood University. I expect students to realize what it proper speech is and in what arenas you can exercise this speech - what is decent, and what reflects positively on themselves, their University, and good values. I expect that as educated students, you understand who your audience is when you do speak. These are not irrational expectations, I am sure many readers have the similar, if not the same, expectations. Have respect for your audience, have respect for your readers, and have respect for yourselves at future leaders in society. I am not here to debate social issues. I am here to ensure that we all live up to being citizen leaders though action, not by name.
Students are given a forum in a school newspaper in which to express themselves and this is the best kind of expression you can come up with? Highly disappointing. This is a school newspaper, not a Playboy magazine. Students are encouraged to find ways to research real issues and write about them, from their experience in the Longwood University community and their communities at home, to find real solutions to real problems (English 400 classes do a good job of this) and you are passing over these opinions and this research for this “pornography on paper”? Highly disappointing once again. I highly doubt this Candy Kane is a licensed doctor or licensed medical professional so her attempt at giving any sort of advice has not merit what so ever. If you want medical advice about sex and sex practices, consult licensed doctors and other licensed medical personnel, not students. I hope that student should have the common sense to do that by now. Your readers are students, alumni, parents, and even younger kids if you want to go that far. With this being said, I do respectfully question your judgment in this matter and believe that those who allowed this to happen dropped the ball in a big way. This brings down the credibility and standards you set to uphold as the Rotunda.
My post to the Rotunda on Facebook has caught the attention of students, alumni, parents, and other SGA Presidents who I have worked with in the past, who share their disappointment as well and support my concern, among many others who have decided to remain silent in this affair. If such disappointment is expressed by a multitude of individuals in this case, maybe there is a problem at hand. I believe the problem partially comes from the fact that students are blinded by the college culture and believe that what seems to be acceptable in college is acceptable in other areas as well and they probably do not know it. On campus, we do not always think twice about someone showing up to class drunk or hungover and smelling of alcohol, we just say that it is normal and that the person had a great time last night. Some students seem to believe couch burning is normal when it snows, that it is a tradition some will say. But you are causing trouble to the town of Farmville and the fire/ police departments that have to deal with your poor decision making, this does not reflect well on anyone and causes harm. Some students seem to believe that having “one night stands” and “flings” is normal because this is college, it is ok to cut loose, to get drunk and have sex because that’s your goal for the night, you want to experiment, and you do not want to have any regrets. Seems like a recipe for sexual assault problems if you ask me. Some students participate in risky behavior by using drugs and consume overly heavy amounts of alcohol and may not consider the risks they are taking by doing so. We do not think twice about a lot of these things because in college apparently this is seen as normal behavior. This is what I mean by the college culture and how that interferes with good judgment all around, and sets the pace for opinions like "Did You Know? Having Sex while on your Period can End it Sooner?” to be seen as ok because of the college culture I have described. This is a major problem and needs to be addressed on all levels. So now that brings us to this opinion article in question. We have decided to cross the line for the mass audience to see with the publishing of opinions like "Did You Know? Having Sex while on your Period can End it Sooner?”, what I call “pornography on paper”. Just because you have freedom of speech and the press, it does not mean that you have the right to neglect your audience and the message your expressing to be seen, which in this case is indecent, improper and offensive. Your words do have an impact ladies and gentlemen, and are seen. Therefore let them have a positive impact in the right may. That is where "can do better" and "should do better" come in. Have a little discretion and courtesy in terms of what is put into a school newspaper and the kind of message you are expressing. Longwood University is not a no holds barred sex circus. The Rotunda prides itself on being “….Longwood University’s source for news, for students, by students”, then let’s have some discipline and some accountability and set the right, positive examples for your readers. If this sex driven news is the type of news students as a whole want and desire passionately to see, then I am concerned for our future. There are some questions that can be asked on both ends of the issue here. Why am I taking this seriously? Why are others taking this seriously? Why should you take this seriously as readers? Because I believe this sets a bad precedence for the future and our future students. I highly doubt that a potential student and parents of potential students would be impressed at this kind of “pornography on paper” filth that is being put forth for readers. This does not merit a good impression at all. You let one tiny issue slip and it turns into a bigger one. You let your values and what you stand for go down the toilet, and you fail yourself and others as leaders. One mistake can blemish and negate a lifetime of good deeds, and sometimes you cannot recover from it. This semester the Rotunda wanted to “cover a new area with a straightforward approach”, but when it comes to the end result that is "pornography on paper", this is an approach I urge you to reconsider. Not because people are squeamish, not because people are afraid to talk about sex and other related subjects discussed in that opinion piece, but because it is not the right forum for that kind of disturbing and disappointing discussion (MASS audience vs. interested audience, on a student level). If you want to talk about sex and other sex related matters on a student level, hold an event/ discussion on campus where interested students come to you rather than subjecting the entire audience to this disturbing discussion. If you want to go this far, create a club about sex practices that consults licensed doctors or other medical personnel so you can deliver credible and helpful information to students if they so desire to seek it out, where students can discuss sex in a forum that the mass audience does not have to be subjected to. I believe that we all as students and alumni should have respect, integrity, honor, discipline, a sense of good values, and based upon that set good examples so others can follow. The opinion set forth in "Did You Know? Having Sex while on your Period can End it Sooner?” does not reflect any of this, which is a reason why so many of our readers are disappointed. Just because other universities have sex columns does not mean it is necessarily right for us to have. Just because other universities do something doesn't mean we have to follow suit. We are not other universities, we are Longwood University.
In conclusion, my intent it not to censor and/or hinder students in their speech, or to personally offend anyone. My intent is to raise awareness and concern that what you say has an effect and that there is an audience out there listening and that audience is not just students. Be conscious of that, give them courtesy and respect not to subject them with “pornography on paper” because you think it makes for a juicy story and be conscious of who you are reaching with your words. Think before you speak and have accountability of yourselves and discipline yourselves as citizen leaders. are a Lancer family. There is only one Longwood University. Do not be leaders by name, be leaders through action and values. We can do better and we should do better.
Respectfully,
Donald Knight
