2008 Woodie Awards
Hippo City
Comics Corner
James Eric Prichard
Issue date: 11/16/07 Section: Opinions & Editorials
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I've been seeing signs around campus for The Lawrentian. Evidently the paper is moving to a format with more pages and students are welcome to contribute content such as articles, editorials, or cartoons. I have nothing against articles or editorials, but I disagree with the paper's attempt to house an original comic.
It would be morally wrong for The Lawrentian to print such a comic because to do so would perpetuate the rampant egocentrism that already drives the publication. Lawrence University promotes the understanding of alternative worldviews and opinions to a laudable extent. The diversity and foreign language requirements, as well as some of the works on the Freshman Studies list, draw many students away from their Eurocentric habits and enable them to interpret life more globally. The Lawrentian, however, remains a bastion of self-centeredness, solely focusing on Lawrence. Flip through the pages and you will see that every item is about Lawrence and written from an insider's point of view. This paper is as open-minded as a textbook written by Joseph McCarthy and only cares about the people with whom its editors directly interact. An original comic, written from a Lawrentian's perspective and doubtlessly "relevant," would only perpetuate the problem.
An original comic would also be aesthetically faulty. Drawing is difficult, and as most Web comics attest, people who think they can draw usually can't. I've spent a lot of time at Wriston, and Lawrentians are no exception to the rule. I don't want to see the crude depictions that an original comic would doubtlessly offer.
A new comic would also be a waste of resources. Why do we need to pay a student to draw a horrible cartoon when we can just use pre-existing comic strips? I know that most cartoonists make you pay a syndication fee, but our school is small enough so that they probably wouldn't find out. We could just scan a strip out of the Chicago Tribune and put it in our paper, free of charge.
It would be morally wrong for The Lawrentian to print such a comic because to do so would perpetuate the rampant egocentrism that already drives the publication. Lawrence University promotes the understanding of alternative worldviews and opinions to a laudable extent. The diversity and foreign language requirements, as well as some of the works on the Freshman Studies list, draw many students away from their Eurocentric habits and enable them to interpret life more globally. The Lawrentian, however, remains a bastion of self-centeredness, solely focusing on Lawrence. Flip through the pages and you will see that every item is about Lawrence and written from an insider's point of view. This paper is as open-minded as a textbook written by Joseph McCarthy and only cares about the people with whom its editors directly interact. An original comic, written from a Lawrentian's perspective and doubtlessly "relevant," would only perpetuate the problem.
An original comic would also be aesthetically faulty. Drawing is difficult, and as most Web comics attest, people who think they can draw usually can't. I've spent a lot of time at Wriston, and Lawrentians are no exception to the rule. I don't want to see the crude depictions that an original comic would doubtlessly offer.
A new comic would also be a waste of resources. Why do we need to pay a student to draw a horrible cartoon when we can just use pre-existing comic strips? I know that most cartoonists make you pay a syndication fee, but our school is small enough so that they probably wouldn't find out. We could just scan a strip out of the Chicago Tribune and put it in our paper, free of charge.
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