There’s a recent trend in the campus papers that I find deplorable: swearing. The first time was in last year’s final issue where a text box thanked the news team for having “Done solid [expletive deleted]”. Examples this semester include executives of the ASA and SSMU in interviews and a recent Daily opinion piece. I probably swear more than any of the people cited, but I do know where to use an appropriate level of discourse. Campus papers that discuss serious issues are not the media in which to be a potty-mouth (or -pen). Some administrators actually read these papers (evidence: the re-shelving panic last December) and a lower level of discourse does not endear our cause to them. I’m a big believer in free speech. I’m not calling on newspapers to censor their interviews. I would like interviewees to watch their tongues when they talk to the press, especially anyone accountable to an organization, and I’m asking the Daily staff to adopt a more professional tone. If I’ve noticed this, you can be sure others have as well. Alice Cooper was one of the first rockers to make his performances about shocking the audience, and he did it while never swearing. He thought it would “be too easy.”
Raphael Dumas
U3 Civil Engineering