The Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 98, No. 03, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 29, 2005 Page: 4 of 8
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The Megaphone, September 29 2005
OPINIONS AND EDITORIALS
Revealing the dark side of Pirate Bikes
Staffer Lori Higginbotham tells us about the flaws of the new yellow bikes
By LORI HIGGINBOTHAM
Megaphone Staff Writer
I cl's be frank here, I don't
like pirate hikes.
Don't gasp, put your hand
over your mouth and say, "But
pirate hikes are the best thing to
happen to this school since Ihe
Megaphone became a w eektr
newspaper!
Nope
My real problem with pirate
hikes is this- Why do we need
them?
Ihe Southwestern campus
is miniscule compared to that
of University of lexas or lexas
A&M
SU students don't have to
walk a mile and a half to get
from their art history class to
their ein ironmental science
class, I he cafeteria isn't across
a major highway.
Are we really incapable of
walking a few short yards to get
where we need to go?
During my senior year of
high school, when that legend-
ary acceptance letter with the
Southwestern University seal
came in the mail. I thought I
would be attending a small
school where squirrels play, and
students lounge around ancient
oak trees. And I do. and I love
it.
However, every once in
a while some madman on a
yellow hike shatters my illusion
of such a school.
Within the week or so
pirate hikes made their place
at SIT I've learned to become
extremely w ary of any thing that
sounds remotely like a bell.
f or as we are all aware, the
yellow hikes are equipped yvith
a lovely device that rings like a
cross between a grandma on her
scooter and one of those whis-
tles hunters use to attract birds.
Atop a bike, soaring over
the sidewalks and grassy areas,
there is little room for aware-
ness ofall those little people not
on bikes.
Those of us who prefer to
keep our feet on the ground
do not appreciate near-death
experiences on our wav to the
library
Rumors of vandalism are
also alloat.
In all seriousness. I do not
think Southwestern students are
a bunch of juvenile delinquents
who see the yellow bikes as
another piece of public property
to ruin.
Laura Bishop | Megaphone*
First-year Carrie Toombs is having fun with her lacrosse stick on a Pirate Bike now, but it's alt fun and games
until someone loses an eye
The bikes were a gift and
we should and probably will
take care of them.
But with the wear and tear
of students constantly leaping
oil a bike, leaving it to wheel
its wav into the nearest bush. I
don't see how long they 'll last.
.lust yesterday I watched a
student suffer quite a crash in
the bushes near my dorm, lie
careened into a bush, cursed a
few times and the jumped up
and blamed the crash on his
faulty yeHow bike.
In all their glory, these bikes
aren't particularly well made, as
anyone who has sat down on a
loose seat and gripped the gear-
less handle bars can agree.
You have to realize the only
reason I can have such a nega-
tive opinion regarding the bikes
is because they arc so darn pop-
ular.
What is it about this new
toy that creates so much excite-
ment? They're bicycles - bicy-
cles yye don't even need
They break, they have an
annoying bell, and they cause
pain like nothing else w hen their
wheels wheel over your toes.
Is it the thrill of getting
to class in less than ten sec-
onds? Ihe yvind in your hair?
The prospect of smashing into
a very prickly bush? I don't
understand.
All I know is that when stu-
dents tlx through the mall on
their yellow bikes, they scare
the squirrels and miss the shade
of the trees
Our generation is con-
stantly being reminded to stop
and smell to roses. And we sure
can't do that on Pirate Bikes.
So just slow down. guys.
Tnjoy the scenery.
When art goes too far
By ARBYE CURTIS_
Megaphone Staff Writer
It is May 2005 at Reeds
College and Jonathan Murphy,
sel f-proclai med performance
artist, has submitted his senior
art thesis. Entitled “Drowning,"
he presents a video recording
of himself being bound and
clamped, with a cinder hlock
on his chest, placed in a tub
of water. We then watch him
drown.
The process takes a total
of two minutes from complete
immersion to lack of total con-
sciousness. I le is resuscitated
for w hat seems to be an eternity
by one of his friends, and the
video clip ends.
lie explains, as a prologue
to his v ideo, that his art is based
on the prev ious works of Chris
Burden, a performance artist
circa 1970. who garnered a
name for himself byway of
his performance work entitled
"Shoot." in which he instructs
an assistant to shoot him in his
arm.
While Burden only muti-
lated his body in the name of
art. Murphy has taken what one
would consider to be the next
step by entering a stale of total
unconsciousness, temping the
very proximities of death.
What then, is art?
Long gone are the days
when the Academies. Salons,
and wealthy benefactors coirt-
missioned and reigned over the
world of art, demarcating what
“is" art and what “is not.”
So who has usurped their
throne of statutes?
I believe the early 1900s
provide that answer. Towards
the end of the 19th century,
artists were starting to gain a
sense of independence from
the conservative art world and
create avant-garde works or
art. These trends arc seen in
the artistic movements of the
Abstract Expressionists, Dada-
ists. Symbolists. Futurists, and
Constructivists. Each of these
movements contained works
of art produced on a multitude
of mediums; each harboring a
socio-poiitical purpose.
Art had entered a “modern"
era. Artists were their own inde-
pendent. self-governing bodies;
free to create and experiment
The 1950s outlined the
emergence of the performance
artist, defined as any form of
theatrical art featuring the activ-
ity and works of the artist, pre-
sented in a variety of media.
So has Murphy taken the
preconceived notion of art too
far. or i*, he another rev isionist
and artistic revolutionary much
like his avant-garde forefathers
before him?
I believe Murphy is exercis-
ing the modernist view of’Art
for Art's Sake.’ Coined to serve
as a call of release from the tv r-
anny of meaning and purpose
that the bourgeoisie of the 1900s
so desperately necessitated, the
phrase took root in the art his-
toric community by the theo-
ries of formalist critic Clement
Greenberg, lie emancipated art
with his words which described
art as self-referential autonomy,
which brings us to the senti-
ments of today.
As we walk through, the .
museums of metropolises and
gaze at llicypretty art on the
walls, we are Wn whop we
reach the catch-22 of artistic
movements, that of the Abstract
Expressionists.
How many times have we
thought to ourselves, “that's
easy. I can do that" or ’That is
not art." It is these same senti-
ments that bind us to the hierar-
chical and conserv ative thinking
that the avant-garde artists at
the turn of the century plighted
to rebel against.
So when you look at Mur-
phy 's display of art. and think
to yourself, "that is not art."
think before you speak lie is
not asking you to like it. only
to respect it and acknowledge
it And remember this, most art-
iste we speak with adulation (if
today were those avant-garde
artists who rebelled against the
majority, prov iding the platform
for artists like Jonathan Murphy
to perform Ibr the masses.
Murphy's work can be
viewed at www.ililm.com by
entering his name in the search
bar.
Rebuilding New Orleans
Should it be a job exclusively for Americans?
By MADDIE ROBERTSON
Megaphone Guest Writei
The recent devastation in
New Orleans has left everyone
in shock.
Now in the aftermath, there
is much work to he done to get
the citizens of this city back on
their feet
Rebuilding is going to be
a long and exhausting process,
requiring much work.
In a generous move. Vicente
fox. the president of neighbor-
ing Mexico, has ollered the aid
of Mexican citizens.
President Bush has been
considering this oiler as an
opportunity to both prov ide
poor Mexican citizens with
much needed employment and
to generate plenty of labor for
the rebuilding process.
At first glance, this plan
seems great; rebuild the city
quickly and cheaply and lend a
helping hand to our neighbors.
However, the citizens of New
Orleans are not so enthusiastic
about this idea.
When the city was wiped
out. so were all ol the jobs. I he
people of New Orleans have
been left without homes, trans-
portation. possessions, food,
and now |ubs. Is that right'.’
Mexico is our neighbor and
w e hav e alway s done our best to
promote foreign aid and mlerna-
tionalties However. The United
States is a country, and country-''
men first help each other. The
people of New Orleans need
these jobs right now just as
much, il not more, than Mexican
citizens. Additionally, reaching
out to Mexico is great, but is not
more important than caring for
our ow n citizens.
In conclusion, thank you to
President I ox for the generous
gesture. Thank you to President
Bush for your enthusiasm for
international teamwork. Thank
you to the citizens ol Mexico
for your continuous labor in
A m erica
I lus. however, is an Ameri-
can job. so no thank you. Mr
Tox--wc have it covered
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The Megaphone (Georgetown, Tex.), Vol. 98, No. 03, Ed. 1 Thursday, September 29, 2005, newspaper, September 29, 2005; (https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metapth634340/m1/4/?q=%22%22~1: accessed July 15, 2024), University of North Texas Libraries, The Portal to Texas History, https://texashistory.unt.edu.; crediting Southwestern University.