UHDS enforces illiteracy
Bethany Bekas
Issue date: 9/8/08 Section: Opinion
Every August, a new flock of freshmen venture to college with hopes of enlightenment and maturity. By enlightenment and maturity, I of course mean partying and debauchery.
But can they really be blamed for this? On move-in day, Adams Street boasted parties and signs reading "Drop freshmen off here." Movies like "Animal House" and the more recent "College" portray universities as party central.
Having fun in college is expected, and after all, it is the last years that most people can have fun before a career and/or family responsibilities. The problem arises when the university puts academia in the passenger seat and hands the ignition keys to MTV.
The University Housing and Dining Services created their own first year experience theme: Tru Life. Sadly, that is not a typo. Many readers may have seen this theme advertised on a flyer designed to look like notebook paper with a font that dons a lowercase "I" at the beginning of sentences. This flyer may be pleasing to the eye, but there are other usable fonts that don't assault the English language. This font choice is partnered with other grammatical and punctuation mistakes.
I understand mistakes happen, but with a theme ripped off from MTV, one would hope that some trace of academia would remain intact. On the same handout, UHDS claims "to assist first year students in the residence halls with their academic and personal transition into the university."
On a piece of paper with a lowercase "I" starting a sentence, this would be like FOX news claiming to help its viewers find an unbiased source of news.
The university's theme this year is "Health and Wellness: Challenges and Responsibilities." I cannot think of a more appropriate theme for college students, considering the amount of binge drinking and junk food on campus. I'm not sure how "Tru Life" ties into this theme, or perhaps MTV is a beacon of light in the realm of responsibility. Oh wait, I forgot - they advertise drunkenness every year during their Spring Break special. Oops.
I understand that many students watch MTV and enjoy its programming; however, this fact does not need to be used to get students more interested in FYE. Students should not be presented with material that uses poor grammar or spelling errors. First year students find their own ways to escape the learning environment. They do not need help from UHDS. Perhaps the actual sessions UHDS provides will be very informational and useful to students, but this theme was poorly chosen.
But can they really be blamed for this? On move-in day, Adams Street boasted parties and signs reading "Drop freshmen off here." Movies like "Animal House" and the more recent "College" portray universities as party central.
Having fun in college is expected, and after all, it is the last years that most people can have fun before a career and/or family responsibilities. The problem arises when the university puts academia in the passenger seat and hands the ignition keys to MTV.
The University Housing and Dining Services created their own first year experience theme: Tru Life. Sadly, that is not a typo. Many readers may have seen this theme advertised on a flyer designed to look like notebook paper with a font that dons a lowercase "I" at the beginning of sentences. This flyer may be pleasing to the eye, but there are other usable fonts that don't assault the English language. This font choice is partnered with other grammatical and punctuation mistakes.
I understand mistakes happen, but with a theme ripped off from MTV, one would hope that some trace of academia would remain intact. On the same handout, UHDS claims "to assist first year students in the residence halls with their academic and personal transition into the university."
On a piece of paper with a lowercase "I" starting a sentence, this would be like FOX news claiming to help its viewers find an unbiased source of news.
The university's theme this year is "Health and Wellness: Challenges and Responsibilities." I cannot think of a more appropriate theme for college students, considering the amount of binge drinking and junk food on campus. I'm not sure how "Tru Life" ties into this theme, or perhaps MTV is a beacon of light in the realm of responsibility. Oh wait, I forgot - they advertise drunkenness every year during their Spring Break special. Oops.
I understand that many students watch MTV and enjoy its programming; however, this fact does not need to be used to get students more interested in FYE. Students should not be presented with material that uses poor grammar or spelling errors. First year students find their own ways to escape the learning environment. They do not need help from UHDS. Perhaps the actual sessions UHDS provides will be very informational and useful to students, but this theme was poorly chosen.
Viewing Comments 1 - 2 of 2
RA J
posted 9/10/08 @ 12:31 AM CST
Wowie! What a hard ass! Have a little fun!!!!
Matt Mason
posted 9/12/08 @ 12:57 PM CST
Great article, and I loved the Faux News, I mean Fox News analogy.
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