<$BlogRSDUrl$>

Saturday, November 22, 2003

Mass Media Roundup 

Posted by Nick : 10:07 AM

The system works: A few weeks ago there was an item in the paper urging the sale of Free Trade Coffee on campus. Well, ask and ye shall receive. I don't really drink or care about coffee, but congratulations to those who worked hard to bring this stuff to campus.

Former Professor watch: Another of my former philosophy teachers made the paper this week. Ajume Wingo has released a book called Veil Politics in Liberal Democratic Societies. Check out the description:
His book describes how politics in the Western world rely heavily upon the use of icons and symbols.

Wingo opens his book with a critique of the significance of Abraham Lincoln's presence on the penny. He explores the fact that this most ubiquitous piece of government-issued tender in the country bears the visage of the so-called "Great Emancipator" who is associated with granting freedom to the enslaved and oppressed. The symbolic value of Lincoln's image plays right into the type of message the government wants to be sending to its citizens at all times.

"The image of Lincoln finds its way into every pocket and every child's piggy bank, and in doing so, various ideals and virtues associated with the image of Lincoln find their way as well into the daily lives of citizens," Wingo writes. He continues, "In a sense, this image becomes invisible, blending as it does into the commonplace background of everyday life. But, like language and the countless other tacit assumptions of everyday life, these unobtrusive images play a role in shaping our values, judgments and intuitions."
Pretty nifty.

'Who is this guy' watch: Another Lieberman letter!

And lastly, MassPIRG, MassPIRG, MassPIRG: The op/ed page reprints an editorial from the UMass Amherst paper... "MassPIRG Manipulates UMass Students."

I think I'm still undecided on this issue. While I think things like the UMass Amherst Day Care center and The Mass Media certainly add immeasurable value to a campus that they deserve the special relationship of being a check on/off organization on the tuition bill, I can't convince myself the same goes for MassPIRG. We've been told before that the money on the tuition bill goes straight to the state chapter of the advocacy group. The money isn't spent on campus, it's spent on interest group politics and lobbying. Why should any advocacy group be allowed to fund raise on state tuition bills?

Unfortunately HB 2400 doesn't differentiate between sensible campus organizations charging fees on a tuition bill and MassPIRG.
Comments: Post a Comment

This page is powered by Blogger. Isn't yours?