THE AWARD-WINNING
OCTOBER 15, 2013
Main
Opinion
To the Editor:
Perhaps the prime concern of humanities professors (English, journalism, etc.)
ought to be rousing student interest in
democracy and, in particular, the First
Amendment and vigorous debate, especially regarding controversial thoughts
and ideas. Yet that concern seems all but
inexistent, buried by the overwhelming
focus today on multiculturalism and diversity.
Calling the police on a man quietly
holding a sign in the library is one sure
way to discourage students and others
from exercising their First Amendment
rights. That’s what happened to me a
few weeks ago at the Wilkens Library.
“Celebrate the Anniversary of the Bill
of Rights, Not Banned Books Week”
was my sign. Read my full account of
what happened: www.globalfreepress.
org/editorials/topics/free-speech. Perhaps
CCCC writing and journalism instructors
ought to expose students to the account
and emphasize in their classes that, for
writers, Freedom of Speech is of prime
importance. Without it, jail cells, torture chambers, firing squads, and/or exile await them. In fact, I’d be happy to
speak to students on this very topic and
have even prepared a detailed syllabus
with its regard. Might there be an interested professor? If so, contact me. I
don’t bite or make threats. Hell, I live
and publish here in your very community and even possess a doctoral degree.
Sadly, only about one in 30 CCCC
students expressed interest in my sign.
But not even one of the English or journalism professors I’d contacted cared
what happened at Wilkens. Not one of
them cared about the refusal of both the
Cape Cod Times and Barnstable Patriot
to report on my being permanently trespassed without warning or due process
from Sturgis Library in Barnstable. Not
one library director of the Clams Library
System of Cape Cod, which includes
Wilkens, would even respond to my demand for due process. Not one CCCC
professor cared that The American Dissident, a 501 c3 Nonprofit Journal of
Literature, Democracy and Dissidence,
had essentially been banned by those library directors from the system. Why do
Dean Jeanmarie Fraser and Tim Gerolami, and professors Sarah Polito, Bruce
Riley, Kathleen Soderstrom, Michael
Olendzenski, Patricia McGraw, James
Kershner, Dianne Gregory, John French,
Christine Esperson, Bill Berry, Patricia
Allen and Dean Debower not care? And
why don’t the local politicians (Tom
Lynch, Brian Mannal, Cleon Turner,
Ann Canedy, etc.) care? Is commerce all
that concerns them? And what about the
ACLUM and PEN New England?
Sadly, CCCC police officers are not
educated regarding citizen rights. The
police supervisor, who confronted me,
explicitly and angrily ordered me to stop
recording him. Well, I obeyed, but then
only later discovered citizens have “a
specific First Amendment right to record
police officers,” according to two major
court decisions (U.S. Court of Appeals
for the 1st Circuit and the 7th Circuit
Court).
It is mind-boggling the police were
called in the first place because both
Dean Fraser and Mr. Gerolami somehow
determined that holding a sign silently
was a “confrontational” activity and that
because students were “looking” at the
activity, it somehow “disrupted the flow
of the education system.” Wow. CCCC
deans and faculty need to be educated
as to the First Amendment. They clearly
are not. Court cases have sided over and
again with Justice William O. Douglas’
view that “The function of free speech
under our system of government is to
invite dispute. It may indeed best serve
its high purpose when it invites a condition of unrest, creates dissatisfaction
with conditions as they are, or even stirs
people to anger. Speech is often provocative and challenging. It may strike at
prejudices and preconceptions and have
profound unsettling effects as it passes
for acceptance of an idea.” Yet the deans
and faculty do not seem to care about
this. Does President John L. Cox care?
Perhaps not.
Moreover, “disrupting the flow of
the education system” is far too vague
a term to overrule the right to exercise
free speech at a public institution. Such
a term needs to be carefully defined
and narrowly limited or it will accord
administrators the power of unchecked
censors. Holding a sign for a mere 10
minutes, not getting in anyone’s face,
not threatening anyone and not provoking people to violence is a legal activity
in America. So, why is it a questionable
one at CCCC?
Finally, student newspapers ought to
devote a page or even a small corner
of a page to uncomfortable criticism of
the particular college or university housing it. Students need to be encouraged to
question and challenge all things, especially those that seem to enjoy protected
status.
Students ought to be encouraged to
ask themselves what they think they
shouldn’t write or speak about, even
make a list of such taboos and why they
seem to be taboos. If such taboos serve
to avoid offending others and hide uncomfortable truths or opinions, then they
need to be broken. Citizens need to build
spine and not be so easily offended. Democracy depends on that. Anonymous
authorship ought to be fully discouraged.
Now, the probability this letter will
change absolutely nothing is very high.
So, why bother writing it? Ego? Well,
surely, those criticized in it would a-men
to that. But I’d argue that visceral passion for the freedom to speak, opine and
write is the principle reason. If being
egocentric means having such a passion,
then fine. I’d much rather be that than
a see-no-evil, hear-no-evil, speak-no-evil
careerist. The former Soviet Union was
loaded with those… and today so is the
USA. The right to freedom of expression
is recognized as a human right under Article 19 of the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights. Do not seek to diminish
that right with your own spinelessness,
biases and inane excuses, as in “disrupts
the flow of the educational system.”
G. Tod Slone, Ed., The American
Dissident, Barnstable, MA
THE AWARD-WINNING
Main
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Cape Cod Community College’s
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Gulls on campus
by Derrik Clefstad
Any student who has been enrolled at Cape Cod Community
College and spends at least a few moments in the parking lot
has most likely seen or heard seagulls. Seagulls are very competitive scavengers, meaning that they feed off scraps of food
left behind by other animals, including humans. This competitive and greedy nature makes seagulls annoying to many people, including the students at CCCC. Michaela Nee, a third year
biology student, called them, “Obnoxious scavengers. Filth.”
Perhaps the question everybody is asking is why the gulls
have chosen the campus to reside. Patrick Tatano, a biology
professor, said they’re here “all for food.” The gulls nest at
the Cape Cod Mall and come to CCCC to get food, primarily scraps of food from students who either throw food on the
ground or into the trash. Tatano said the campus is “a good
food source after night courses.”
The most common variety of gull on campus is the Herring Gull, a seagull that migrates throughout the entire United
States, but other varieties that show up from time to time include Bonaparte’s Gulls and Laughing Gulls. Like most birds,
the gulls migrate throughout the country according to seasons
and food sources. This explains why the gulls seem to drop
significantly in number during the winter.
Herring Gulls are in fact one of the largest members of the
gull family, and are easily recognizable by their great size
(They can have a wingspan of over four feet), black and white
PAGE 7
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feathers and red-orange markings on the tips of their beaks.
These markings are almost like a button that triggers a reflex
that causes the seagull to vomit. The young peck at the markings on the adult to cause it to spit up food for the chicks.
Gulls are one of the few animals that survive on salt water
instead of fresh water. The kidneys of the gull are especially
adept at processing salt through the gull’s body, causing excess
salt to be leaked out in the form of tear-like globs of liquid,
much the same way that crocodiles have “crocodile tears.”
Seagulls can live for about 20 years, which is unfortunate
news for the people who hate them. Gail Maguire, an anatomy
and physiology professor said that, “Seagulls are pretty longlived. Birds live a lot longer then we think they do.”
Regardless of what people think of them, seagulls are a rather
impressive example of evolution refining a species so it can
flourish. They have spread throughout the globe and have become a quintessential part of beaches and ocean life. They
are remarkably skilled at finding food sources, and as Tatano
summed up beautifully. “If you throw a crust of bread outside,
within a minute a gull shows up.”
Whether people like them or not, it is clear that seagulls are
a species that will continue to thrive as long as humans are
too lazy to throw away their half-eaten sandwiches in a closed
waste receptacle.
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