On Sept. 16 my review of “That’s Debatable,” a student-run talk show, ran in the Famuan. Quite frankly, the responding e-mails I received were hilarious. I was told that my REVIEW of the show was overly opinionated.
One respondent said I should have praised the host who was, and I quote, “sexy as hell.” While I’m sure the host would appreciate hearing someone thinks he’s sexy, I doubt that anyone else cares.
Another reader sarcastically thanked me for “clearly setting the standard for FAMU students by downing the most positive endeavor [she has] seen on this campus in years.”
Fortunately, I do not have enough power to set any standards for the entire student body and it is a lazy assumption to think our peers are going to be that influenced by my little review.
That same concerned reader said, “I guarantee if it was one of the many campus organizations like Mahogany or Epicurean, a group of students who still hold on to the crack-pipe dream of being models, a four-star report would have been written about another one of their shows.”
“You blatantly showed by your article if it involves BET, fashion, or dancing, black people can expound, but anything to do with news is taboo to us.”
It’s interesting that such a broad statement can be drawn from a 300-word article that frankly had nothing to do with any of the aforementioned subjects. Also, if I went to a dance or modeling show that sucked, I would say it sucked. But no, that was not what I thought, nor what I said, about “That’s Debatable.” I actually said it has potential, people were interested and I respect the show’s creators for trying to make a positive contribution to student life.
On another note. . . some people fail to realize the Famuan is an educational paper. We have made mistakes and guess what, we will continue to make them.
It is unnecessary to go through the paper with a fine-tooth comb looking for our errors. It’s a little anal to e-mail editors about things like article word counts.
Homelessness is something to comment on. The lack of resources in the universities science department is something to comment on. Word count and minute typos are not something to email about nor is the fact that a writer did not delve into a talk show host’s physical attributes.
Here are some tips: 1. Read stories carefully and don’t create things in your mind that aren’t there and don’t ignore what is 2. If you don’t like something you read in the paper write a letter to the editor. If you do write an email and you want it to be anonymous, make sure your name does not appear in quotations next to your address. 4. If you take the time to email please have something of substance to say.
Kristin McDonald, 21, is a senior newspaper journalism student from Columbia, MD. She serves as the assistant lifestyles editor. She can be reached at mystblu@aol.com.