So some people got held up at knife point on campus last Thursday evening. The article detailing the incident is on page 3, and you guys will notice that one of the victims thanks UP security because of their quick response and “their willingness to help us”. I’m sure that’s true, but my first instinct wouldn’t be to thank security after I got robbed at knife point on campus. I defended the security services after the shooting on campus earlier this year, but surely security should be able to prevent armed robbery? The whole campus is covered in CCTV cameras and there is security at every gate whose main purpose is surely to ensure that people coming onto campus aren’t criminals?
I’m on campus late at night all the time, and now you’re telling me I can’t be assured that someone with a knife isn’t going to walk into the Perdeby office and take all my stuff. Seriously?
In other, more important, news, whenever anything in Perdeby even touches on a subject related to sex (see page 12, by the way), the editing process gets a little edgy. What’s acceptable, what isn’t? Are we going to get letters accusing us of encouraging reckless, immoral behaviour? Can we trust that people will accept articles discussing sex with an open mind, or do we have to employ at least some censorship?
Personally, I don’t understand the conservative side of the argument. Do we seriously still live in a society where safe, consenting sex between two adults has moral implications? Surely not. Surely I’m not destroying purity and innocence by publishing articles which honestly discuss the realities of sex?
Students have sex. All the time. Because believe it or not, sex is pretty much awesome, as long as you’re responsible about it (ooh, I wonder if I’ll get death threats for that sentence?).
And yet, there are always people who seem to think that I shouldn’t publish articles about certain subjects because … because … well I’m not really sure. Because students are impressionable and can’t think for themselves? Because their beliefs are so fragile and vulnerable that simply reading an article can lead them from the path of righteousness into the hellfire?
Could we please grow up?
Oppikoppi is a strange place. It’s a kind of dreamscape, a place of pure hedonism, where the real world is discarded in favour of a world where anything is acceptable: as long as it feels good, it is good, and the worst that can happen is that you’ll develop a slight rash. It is interesting to come back from an environment like that to a world where there are rules and responsibilities. I like to think of Oppikoppi as a place of friendly anarchy, and I have to say, that’s a philosophy that appeals to me.
But I’m a hippie, in my secret heart.
Speaking of, how awesome was Oppikoppi? So awesome. This edition is all about Oppikoppi: photos, interviews, articles. The Oppikoppi team (Nadine Laggar and Melina Meletakos, as well as the photogs) did a great job this year and I would like to thank them from the bottom of my vodka-soaked heart.
Let’s do it like they do on the Discovery Channel
Beyers
@PerdebyEditor
