The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 27, Ed. 1 Friday, April 13, 2007 Page: 3 of 24
twenty four pages : ill. ; page 19 x 15 in.View a full description of this newspaper.
Extracted Text
The following text was automatically extracted from the image on this page using optical character recognition software:
THE RICE THRESHER
OPINION
FRIDAY, APRIL 13,2007
Guest column
Playboy pin-up defies sex objectification
When I first pick up a copy of Playboy
each month, I skip around, reading
the articles, Q's and A's and check-
ing out the featured pictorials. In
each set of photos, I see
confident, smiling women
who obviously have no
qualms about appearing
nude in a widely distrib-
uted magazine. And why
should they?
Why, in our sex crazed
culture, is sexually sug-
gestive nudity so shock-
ing? I have heard and read
some cultural criticism
of Playboy as obscene
and objectifying, but as a
woman who has bared it all for the
magazine, I have to disagree with
this interpretation.
While it is easy to blame Playboy
for the objectification and sexualiza-
tion of women in our culture, I feel
that many of the women and men
who are quick to label Playboy as
offensive and objectifying are just
trying to feel better about the support
they lend to the repression of female
sexual expression.
Our culture is currently on the
edge. We teeter between allowing
women to do as they wish without
condemnation and the converse of
limiting what is sexually acceptable.
The supposed risk that nude model-
ing poses to one's future aspirations
characterizes the real problem with
Playboy, us.
Posing naked for a magazine
would not unravel a girl's future if
we lived in a truly liberated culture.
As girls we were told that we could
Whitney
Alsup
do anything - just like Barbie. But
unfortunately that opportunity
comes with a few qualifying condi-
tions. Apparently, girls can do and be
anything, but only if they do
not ruin their reputations by
acting in an unacceptably
sexual manner.The truth is,
Playboy is not the problem,
it is the men and women
around us who are so con-
cerned with maintaining
the moral status quo that
they will stop at nothing to
shame those of us who defy
it. How else can our social
obsession with identifying
and condemning "sluts" be
explained?
As a feminist, I feel obligated to call
out those who wear the same label yet
pretend to know the supposedly cor-
rect choices for women to make. In
my understanding, the whole point of
the feminist revolution was to ensure
that women could decide for them-
selves what their lives should look
like. I am sick of hypocritical women
who identify as socially progressive
feminists but speak derogatively
about other women's behaviors and
choices. We can not stand united if
we tear ourselves apart.
Some critics of the magazine as-
sert that Playboy separates the woman
and her intelligence from the body,
but I completely disagree. First of all,
as a magazine run by women, Play-
boy depends on both the beauty and
brains of women from the ground up.
Futhermore, the photographers who
work for the magazine do a fantastic
job of capturing the personality and
emotions of the women they photo
graph. Playboy goes out of its way to
genuinely emphasize the interests
and intellectual pursuits of its Play-
mates and pictorial posers alike. If
you need a truly disgusting cultural
phenomenon to focus on, try Joe
Francis, the sexual predator of Girls
Gone Wild, who coerces drunk girls
into stripping and performing sexual
acts. And to those who insist that Rice
women are too young to make the
decision to pose nude: it is people
like you who make posing for Playboy
a liability; we are perfectly capable
of making decisions for ourselves,
thanks. I)o you question whether
you are truly mature enough to vote?
I didn't think so.
So while my behavior will still be
looked down upon as deviant and
irresponsible, know that I chose
to pose naked with the intention of
making people think twice about
their own subconscious degradation
and the repression of the women
around them.
As a passionate feminist, who will
leave no outdated social more unchal-
lenged, I dare all of you to pick up an
issue of Playboy and see it for what is: a
magazine with well-written, intelligent
articles and artistic pictures of women
in various states of undress — two
of whom happen to be talented and
capable Rice students. Picturesof nude
women are not objectifying unless you
as the viewer look at a woman and see
only asexual object—and that'sonyou,
not Playboy.
Whitney Alsup is a Martel College
freshman.
Self-proclaimed gadfly
Rice PIN process violates student freedoms
Over the last few weeks, there has
been a plethora of university sur-
veys filling student e-mail inboxes
and spam filters. Unlike most mass
messages, which ask me
to increase my mortgage
by up to six inches, I was
glad to reply to these by
expressing what I consider
the most important aspect
of Rice: student freedom.
Through a wet-campus
alcohol policy, lack of a
core curriculum, the Honor
Code and college govern-
ments. Rice has established
a precedent of student
authority, letting us dictate
our own successes and failures. This
student freedom becomes most clear
when compared to other universi-
ties, where alcohol violations are
punished with extreme prejudice and
surprise room searches by resident
advisors are a norm. No wonder all
my friends at other schools moved
off campus, except the one guy who
decided to become a dictatorial
RA himself.
Evan
Mintz
Are Rice students
not smart enough to
register for classes on
their own?
Even other college newspapers,
supposed bastions of free speech, are
still regulated —just look at the Daily
Texan with itsTexas Student Publica-
tions Board. Although Rice has full
right asa private institution to oversee
publication of the Thresher, the ad-
ministration has resisted censorship
or regulation of any variety. In the
end, at Rice we are considered adult
enough to drink responsibly, spend
our massive college budgets wisely
and dictate our own system of justice
properly. But for some reason, we are
not allowed to choose classes without
a professor holding our hand.
For those who do not know, to
register for classes, a student must ar-
range a meeting time with an adviser,
acquire a PIN release form from the
adviser and give the PIN release form
to the college coordinator—assuming
that the coordinator can
be found — at which point
the student can receive a
PIN to log in to ESTHER
and register for classes.
And this year it all took
place over a long weekend,
which means bonus points
for difficulty.
Of course, some of this
is misleading — the term
"adviser," for example.
A more accurate title for
these professors would be
"PIN-giver-outers." 1 assume students
are forced to talk to advisers before
registering for classes in some sort
of attempt to fix Rice's mediocre aca-
demic advising program. But instead
it makes the problem worse, leaving
professors' meeting times crammed
with so many students that they barely
have a chance to scribble down a sig-
nature before the next student barges
through the door, leaving students
who know what they want to take ver-
ily annoyed and students who actually
need some advising unsatisfied.
Students seek advice when they
need it. But that advice is not necessar-
ily needed every semester, the exact
week before registration. If students
were not forced to meet with profes-
sors to receive PIN release forms, the
advising system could escape its cur-
rent quagmire. In contrast to the typi-
cal onslaught, professors could meet
with students who actually want to
meet with them, reducing the quantity
of meetings but increasing quality. We
know that professors are there if we
need them for advice, whether daysor
months before we sign up for classes.
But forcing students to meet with pro-
fessors makes advising a chore, not
a privilege.
Even if we need advice, there
are sources of au ricular wisdom
besides faculty. The college system
ensures that freshmen can chat with
seniors, asking questions about
classes that even professors would
not be able to answer. The Office of
the Registrar's ECAPP degree audit
ensures that students can take mat-
ters of checking any problems into
their own hands. Indeed, the Student
Association's own course evalua-
tion Web site clearly demonstrates
that students are willing to take the
initiative to find advice on their own
terms. Again, there's that whole
student freedom thing, f suppose.
Forcing students to jump through
bureaucratic hoops dumbs down the
system into a nanny state not worthy
of the university or its students.
Sure, the problem is not drastic.
Students seem to be getting by, and
there are no major problems. But
let me just put it this way: at Texas
A&M, students do not need to meet
with an adviser to register for classes.
Are Rice students not smart enough
to register for classes on their own?
1 didn't think so.
Evan Mintz is a Hanszen College
junior and executive editor.
Rice Voices
U.S. policy changes with
global climate changes
On April 2, the Supreme Court
ruled in a 5-4 decision that
the Environmental Protection
Agency had violated the Clean
Air Act by failing to
regulate new vehicle
emissions standards
to limit the pollutants
that contribute to
global warming.
Environmentalists,
rejoice. Even though
concrete regulations
were not part of the
ruling, this marks a
turning point in envi-
ronmental policy of the
United States.Pair this
decision with a March
30 environmental report spon-
sored by the United Nations that
concluded that climate change
since 1950 was 90 percent due to
human activity, and environmen-
tal considerations are sure to be
more influential from now on.
The UN report may also af-
fect the future of the Kyoto Proto-
col emissions regulations, which
are due to expire in five years. It
is a relief to see that scientists
have effectively communicated
to the rest of the world that cli-
mate change is not a myth. And
our Supreme Court has made a
great contribution by rebuking
the Bush administration for
refusing to regulate greenhouse
gas emissions. For the court's
first case involving the issue
of global warming, this is truly
a success.
Unfortunately, many
people are still largely
indifferent about the
magnitude of this
phenomenon — even
at Rice.
However, there are still many
obstacles in the path toward a
cleaner environment. Even though
the I IN report was successfully re
leased, it was significantly watered
down due to pressure from coun-
tries like Saudi Arabia, Russia and
especially China.
(ilobaJ warming has finally been
internationally recognized asa very
real threat, capable of unimaginable
destruction if we do not begin to
take the problem seriously.
Joyce Yao
freshman.
is a Will Rice
the Rice Thresher
Stephen Whitfield
Managing Editor
NEWS
Beko Binder, Editor
Lily Chun, Ass/. Editor
Liang Liu. Designer
Sean McBeath, Designer
Yuekai Sun, Designer
COPY
Carl Hamniarsten, Editor
Ryan Stickney, Editor
SPORTS
Dylan Farmer. Editor
Casey Michel. Asst. Editor
FEATURES
Matt McKee,
Editor
ADVERTISING
Joseph Ramirez. Manager
Thomas Yeh, Asst. Manager
Sarah Mitchell. Classifieds Manager
CALENDAR
Nathan Bledsoe. Editor
Julia Bursten
Editor in Chief
Evan Mintz
Executive Editor
OPINION
Schuyler Woods, Editor
Dan Derozier, Cartoonist
ARTS & ENTERTAINMENT
Tasha Chemplavil. Editor
Tiffany Siu, Ass?. Editor
BUSINESS
Adam Benaroya, Manager
Rob McAuliffe, Asst. Manager
Jessie Huang, Subscriptions Manager
Sarah Mitchell, Payroll Manager
Jose Passans, Distribution Manager
Sean Monks. Distribution Manager
Rachel Kinney, Office Manager
PHOTO
Taylor Johnson, Editor
Marcus Roman. Assignments Editor
lan White, Asst. Editor
WEB
Manny Armada. Manager
Mhair Dekmezian, Manager
Unfortunately, many peo-
ple are still largely indiffer-
ent to the magnitude of this
phenomenon — even at Rice. Al-
though we cannot "see"
global warming, as we
can see other immediate
problemsunfolding, it is
one of the most urgent
issues that our society
faces today.
The UN report
may have stirred
panic among Chinese
policymakers, due to
their current indus-
trialization efforts.
China's development
has accelerated considerably
throughout the past decade and
is still growing strongly. One can
imagine Chinese policymakers'
reluctance to restrict pollutant
emissions — which seems
to come hand-in-hand with
industrialization — and thus
give rise to underreported
environmental data and oppositit>n
toward environmentalist groups.
Although climate change regula-
tion may come at a key moment
of growth in developing countries,
the consequences of not taking
this problem seriously are far more
destructive than impediments
to modernization.
It is true that the environmen-
tal panel offered data that sug-
gested possible benefits of climate
change — for those still in denial,
this is for you — including longer
gri >wing seasons in the higher lati-
tudes and reduced deaths from the
cold. However, it also predicted a
very chilling consequence: Climate
change will most drastically affect
the lives of the poorest around the
world, who will be unable to adapt
in the environment This poses a
moral responsibility and economic-
incentive for everyone
The 21st century has already
witnessed the toll on the poor from
natural disasters — the tsunami
that hit Southeast Asia in Decem-
ber 2004 and Hurricane Katrinaare
only two examples of a myriad of ca-
tastrophes. Thousands have died,
millions have been displaced and
economies have plummeted.How
much more will we have to witness
before global warming is fully
acknowledged? Not many, I hope.
As future leaders of the world, en-
vironmental awan ness we should
keep on all our minds as one of. if
not the most pressing problem of
the century.
The Rice Thresher, the official student
newspaper at Rice University since 1916, is
published each Friday during the school year,
except during examination periods and holidays,
by the students of Rice University.
Editorial and business offices are located
on the second floor of the Ley Student Center.
6100 Main St.. MS-524, Houston, TX 77005-
1892. Phone (713) 348-4801. Fax (713) 348-5238.
E-mail: thresher@rice.edu. Web page: www.
ricethresher.org.
Annual subscription rate: $50 domestic, $125
international. Nonsubscription rate: tirst copy free,
second copy $5.
The Thresher reserves the right to refuse
any advertising for any reason. Additionally, the
Threshcrdoes not take responsibility for the factual
content of any ad. Printing an advertisement does
not constitute an endorsement by the Thresher.
Unsigned editorials represent the majority
opinion of the Thresher editorial staff. All other
opinion pieces represent solely the opinion of the
author. The Backpage is satire.
The Thresher is a member of the Associated
Collegiate Press. Thanks D. Brown.
Upcoming Pages
Here’s what’s next.
Search Inside
This issue can be searched. Note: Results may vary based on the legibility of text within the document.
Tools / Downloads
Get a copy of this page or view the extracted text.
Citing and Sharing
Basic information for referencing this web page. We also provide extended guidance on usage rights, references, copying or embedding.
Reference the current page of this Newspaper.
Bursten, Julia. The Rice Thresher, Vol. 94, No. 27, Ed. 1 Friday, April 13, 2007, newspaper, April 13, 2007; Houston, Texas. (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth443077/m1/3/: accessed July 18, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Rice University Woodson Research Center.