There were three versions of this column before this one made it to today’s paper. I think one of the most difficult things in the world is to come up with an issue one feels passionate enough about to publish in a newspaper, especially when one has two papers and finals around the corner. Mark Twain said as much, too, but he didn’t refer to finals.
Sure, I have written my fair share about the Undergraduate Student Government, faculty and staff compensation and patriotism this quarter, among other things. In comparison to those pieces, everything I seemed to write about yesterday came off as too trite to even spill the ink over. And, unlike Dave O’Neil, I am unable to immortalize myself with a personal tribute to my greatness (or lack thereof) on the opinion pages of the fifteenth largest newspaper in Ohio. Believe you me, I am grateful for that.
I sat in front of my computer the entire day, staring at a blank screen and wondering when something inspirational would emblazen me with the passion to say something. Then my English professor, bless his heart, said something in class which struck my fancy, and I knew it was column material.
He quoted Freud, saying, “A dream is the disguised fulfillment of a repressed wish.” He continued with some other comments and concluded that the university should not be a place where we should repress ideas. “You should not allow anyone to tell you what you should and should not talk about in a classroom.”
He’s right. It’s all up for grabs. In our microcosm known as Ohio State, we should take advantage of the opportunity to liberate those ideas we have – be it in the classroom, on the Oval or in the opinion pages of The Lantern. As a columnist this quarter, I’ve not only had to research topics and form an opinion, but I’ve had to open my eyes to how my words can affect other people.
We receive many letters in our newsroom, and most of them are malicious complaints about what columnists and reporters write about. While those comments are welcomed for the most part, I think it’s important for you, dear readers, to know you can write your own opinions about the topics which matter the most to you in this newspaper. It’s just one more tienda in the “marketplace of ideas,” and your opinions are certainly welcome, too.
Monica Torline is a senior in journalism and a campus editor at The Lantern. She would like to dedicate this column to Grandpa Torline, whom she loves very much. Heroes may fall before our eyes everyday, but it doesn’t mean we forget them or their resolve. She can be reached for comment at [email protected].
