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“Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of
religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging
the freedom of speech, or the press; or the right of the people
peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a
redress of grievances.”
-First Amendment, United States Constitution
Music vs. society: Man vs. himself
By J.A. Scruggs
Staff Writer
Jscrugg I @ my.west,ga .edit
This weekend while
enjoying my time at
home. I saw a commercial
advertising a special show
entitled; "Hip Hop vs.
America.'"which discusses
if rap and hip hop are
destroying society. Quite
honestly, this discussion
is beginning to irritate the
very fabric of my being.
Why. because despite
how true and untrue this
might be, it concerns me
that America only points
its linger at one genre of
music.
Furthermore, people
who say this are speaking
in absolutes, ignoring and
looking over those artists
in rap/hip hop who use
their talents to express
positive messages. Now
my question is, why do
the media constantly
blame rap/hip hop and not
all genres of music?
Blaming only rap/hip
hop supports this “Black
Evil” idea that the media
created, in the way that
African Americans are
portrayed on television,
radio and other mediums.
But that's another issue,
another article, and for
another day.
Much like seeing
oneself in the mirror. I
believe that all music
is a reflection of the
environment where it
originates, meaning that
Greek service helps with community needs
By Bekah Williams
Staff Writer
rwilliß@my.westga.eJu
When you hear
the words fraternity
or sorority, you might
associate things such
as partying, hazing, or
heavy dues— but if you
were to take a closer
look you might learn to
associate things such as
teamwork, togetherness,
friendships, or
philanthropic events.
In November of
2005, Eric Crenshaw
a brother of Chi Phi
Fraternity here on
campus, passed away.
The fraternity grieved
the lost of their beloved
brother and decided
together that this
tragedy would one day
Disclaimer
The opinions in this section does
not reflect the views of the
University of West Georgia, the
staff of the West Georgian, or the
Mass Communications program.
society effects music.
It’s much like the
Man vs. Smself theme
that professors taught
us in literature, where
the main character has
to overcome a personal
obstacle in order to move
on in their life.
Music is what makes
these obstacles prevalent,
which is holding society
back from reaching its
full potential. So if we
find faults and problems
in the music that we
hear it is evident that
we must first investigate
the communities,
neighborhoods and cities
of this great country .
What these artists
have done, they have
created it, so that we
can no longer ignore the
problems that we know
to be there and constantly
sweep under the rug,
because we are too lazy
to help find a solution, or
too selfish to care.
Now, while music
may be a reflection of
society, I must say there
is no excuse to degrade
women, condone and
glorify murder, drug
abuse,and sexual violence
which is present in all
music.
This is where music
artists must be careful,
because while society
affects music, music turns
right around and affects
society. Thus, these artists
may be contributing to
the perpetuation of a bad
benefit others.
This summer, the
brothers of Chi Phi
planned a softball
tournament to honor Eric
and raise money for the
First United Methodist
Church of Alpharetta
blanket ministry.
This organization
strives to provide
blankets for people who
have suffered the loss
of a loved one. Even
though it was in the
midst of summer, over
150 Chi Phi members
and alumni came out to
play ball and show how
brotherhood can prevail
even in the occurrence
of a tragedy.
Bradley Wilson,
the President of Chi Phi
shared his thoughts.
“It is amazing to see
environment or unhealthy
American society that
some artists say they hate
so much.
Many artists fall into
rants and raves about how
their life was and is, but
that doesn’t benefit to
excel their communities.
If one constantly rants and
raves about their problems
without giving a solution,
it’s merely complaining.
Asa warning, these
artists have freedom of
speech and have the right
to produce the type of the
music they want.
So I would suggest
that parents should stop
letting television, radio,
pop stars, movie stars,
rappers and all other
people other than yourself
raise your children.
Get some personal
responsibility about your
life, and protect that
which you birthed into
this world. Because if
your child goes off and
kills an innocent person.
1 hope they get thrown
in prison. Blaming music
or the entertainment
industry will not suffice
for anyone who needs
to have a psychological
evaluation.
In essence, the
relationship between
music and society is like
a cycle, so it would take
changes in both in order
to become effective in
making a difference in
how music affects the
lives of people.
how greeks, active and
alumni alike, can come
together and support an
awesome event in honor
of such a great person
and Chi Phi such as
Eric Crenshaw', as well
as giving back to our
community,” Wilson
said.
More often than not.
the Greeks of ourcampus
are overshadowed
with assumptions or
generalizations, but if
you break the cycle and
look past their big letter
jerseys and matching
flip flops, you might
learn that along with
having a good time,
the Greek chapters on
campus support their
brothers and sisters and
try to make a difference
in this community.
Opinion
Attention!
Responses from Dr. Sethna and Chief of
Police Tom Mackel to "10 Questions to
Dr. Sethna" will be posted on the West
Georgian's website due to size constraints.
We thank them for their timely responses.
Please visit:
www.thewestgeorgian.com
Scruggs responds to respondent on
"What's love got to do with it?"
By J.A. Scruggs
Staff Writer
Jscrugg I (<* inwwestga.edit
At first glance, I was
not going to waste my
time responding to the
response of my article,
“What’s Love got to do
with it?”, but on my way
to the student government
office last week, I picked
up the paper and read the
response in its entirety
and felt obligated to
respond.
I asked myself
does she really love
misrepresenting my
representation of an
issue?
After she “read”
my article she states
“late term abortions
are ONLY 1.4 percent
of ail abortions.” As if
Your Collegiate Readership Program
is back and better than ever! j
University of "
West Georgia
fPick up your ropy^|
The New YorkHM,
and the^^B
at the
Technology Learning Cuter,
*7-6" Cafeteria and wP
University Community Center.
Sponsored by the
VP of Academic Affairs, j
your SGA and thdM
Black Student AHian^l
News happens! Keep up!
el)c jN'rtu jlork eimes
Knowledge Network
r. • , i
i
* §* ' * V ‘ (
that number has room to
grow.
I’m sorry Ms.
Diandra, that number
does not have room to
grow, being that it is
approximately 12,000
dead human bodies,
based on the X 55,0()()
reported abortions by
the Centers for Disease
Control.
But I decided not to
include this information,
because it was not
essential to my article.
Being that late term
abortions are ONLY 1.4
percent of all abortions
does not negate that fact
they are still detestable
in all aspects.
It Ms. Diandra would
have read my article and
comprehended the point
that lied within, she
*
would have understood
that my mission was to
make people aware of
the issue of late term
abortion and to convince
people to evaluate what
they support.
Furthermore, being
that this partial birth
procedure is illegal does
not mean that people do
not support it. There are
many acts that are illegal
that people support
such as illegal use of
marijuana, murder, rape
and child molestation.
So 1 challenge Ms.
Diandra to be sure that
she fully comprehends
w hat she reads bef ore she
jumps on the “respond to
an article bandwagon.”
Because you have created
more points in my article
than what was intended.
GUSA
TODfif