A column, anyone?

In case any of you haven’t noticed, the tide of studentcommentaries has recently hit a lull. I suppose this is to beexpected, after the tidal wave that overtook our campus a month orso ago when the hot topic of affirmative action attracted studentattention and spurned a series of debates that overwhelmed andfilled The Daily Campus op-ed page to its brink.

So goes the news business.

At the moment The Daily Campus is again in need of some goodwriters who possess enough talent, composure, guts and narcissismto espouse their views on just about anything their twisted littleminds can think of. I believe my page is an open forum for studentexpression.

With three months as your Opinion Editor behind me, I can sayI’ve learned a great deal about the business of opinions andall its dirty, beautiful, frustrating, oppressive and emancipatoryintricacies. I’ve received your vitriolic comments regardingcolumnists’ opinions, the op-ed page and The Daily Campus asa whole. I’ve published the scathing invective. In fact,I’ve lost a couple of columnists in the process due torampant harassment from readers, but that comes with the territoryI suppose.

I’ve tried to embrace a no holds barred policy, and alaissez-faire approach to the trends of responses. The page itselfcan exhibit the multiple forces at play within campus-widediscourse, but only if students are willing to be opinionated.

Because if its biases, I think op-ed possesses an honesty andaccuracy that other news pages cannot embrace. If a human being iswriting, there is no objectivity and it’s naive to think onecan possess such a quality, so let’s get subjective and quitscrewing around.

But first a warning: Op-ed is not for the frail ego or thefeeble intellect. You must be prepared to meet the chastisement ofyour peers.

A few guidelines to get you started …

First, whatever you decide to write, it must be well written.The copy editors and I will work with anyone who is willing to comein for 15 minutes and chat about how they can improve thepresentation of their arguments or ideas.

Second, I will not publish a “column” that is 300words long. I’m in the business of commentaries, notejaculatory ink blots that you thought up at 3 a.m.

Of course, if you send me a brilliant commentary that spilledfrom your fingers in the wee hours, while your brain whirled oncaffeine or someone else’s Adderall, who am I to critiqueyour methods? If you’re talented, no questions will beasked.

Third, my page is not an ad rag. You can’t write out ablip to masses, “Come blank, at blank o’clock, andyou’ll get free pizza from my blank organization.”Explain the issue and agenda of your club, organization or houseand then tell us why it’s pertinent to the discourse of theSMU community.

Fourth, despite the fact that the reason for its presenceescapes me, the journalism folk tell me the headshots arecompulsory. Apparently, every opinion must come with a face. Theresult: I cannot publish your column unless you come take a picture(five minutes of your time please; with the 15 for consulting yourwriting, that’s a grand total of 20).

And finally, what I can’t seem to comprehend is why I canhear constant censure from readers, but none of the these so-calledcritics are willing to do what the columnists do: write acommentary or response. An unwillingness to put your grumblingsinto a coherent 650- to 850-word argument indicates your inabilityto do so, your own cowardice or just simple laziness.

I’ve included my e-mail above for anyone up to thechallenge. I check the account every day.

Columnists? Columnists? Anybody?