Conversations on a university campus are of the utmost importance for the intellectual development that is supposed to take place in an academic setting.
However, the conversations that can be overheard around Baker University’s campus as of late seem somewhat questionable as to their academic value.
The recent buzz around campus has been the rights of sports fans to use obscenities and speak openly. The only valid complaint about the faculty’s reaction – one relating the regulation of obscene and disparaging remarks at sporting events to the First Amendment rights of students – is really invalid.
Any Baker sports complex is technically private property as Baker is indeed a private institution, and subsequently, the regulation of behavior therein lies not in the hands of the U.S. Constitution, but rather Baker administration. If those running this private institution decide they want sporting events to be a family-oriented, positive environment, that’s their prerogative.
Last year we heard some rumblings that lasted months, it seemed. In the fall, party policies and drug testing ruled the opinions pages of the Baker Orange, the conversations of many students and the writings (that included numerous grammatical and spelling errors) on the pathways around campus.
Whether you agree with it or not, drug usage and underage drinking are illegal activities. The university prohibiting them is one topic that lies outside the school’s jurisdiction. There are reasons for the absence of legality, and those are the same reasons Baker administrators implement those same rules on campus. Safety concerns are prevalent as growing numbers of alcohol-related deaths, rapes and accidents have become problematic on college campuses around the country.
This is not to say the Baker grapevine isn’t growing in the right direction. Conversations over all these topics are important. Arguments exist for First Amendment rights of students, drinking privileges and even the use of currently illegal substances.
It seems most proactive movements in Baker’s recent history have focused not on changing anything, but rather on movements of the mouth and the sounds that result. Talk is nothing unless it can be backed up with logic and is aimed in the right direction.
Instead of complaining about the athletic department, the intelligent and only effective method to effect change would be to engage in logical conversation with the department. The party policy is the same, which seems hopeful, as IFC has drafted a new party policy to clarify numerous misunderstandings that have existed in the past. If underage drinking and drugs are your thing, that’s a much bigger fight, and any arguments for them should be directed outside of Baker’s campus.