I’ll admit, it takes a lot to get me riled up enough that I have to write in attacking a columnist’s work. I used to be a columnist, so I know how hard it is to come up with something original, only to have nitwits try and rip it apart. However, Sara Malkin’s continuous verbal diarrhea has forced me to write in protest. This week’s column, “Informing a prospective student,” is the most inane, mind-numbing drivel I’ve read so far this year. The idea for the column was unoriginal and uninspired. I’ve read this bunk a hundred times over. No, BU doesn’t have a campus; no, BU has a harsh guest policy; no, BU has no school spirit; no, the BU beach is actually a hill. Congratulations, Ms. Malkin, for pointing out the blatantly obvious!
Who were you trying to reach? If you’re trying to make a point, you have to know your audience. You targeted prospective students. What good does it do to tell people things they already know or knew before they even came here? Do you honestly think that current students are going to read your column, stop, and think: “Hey, I never noticed that six-lane thoroughfare running through campus,” or “Gee whiz, I didn’t even realize that the rooms in Warren Towers are like cell blocks?” It’s laughable.
I’ve not read a single column of yours that could be considered an original thought. You’ve written about how we depend on cell phones and IM, you’ve written on being naked (a column that appeared to have no point whatsoever) and you’ve written a column about being independent when you come home for break. I have read a variation on those subjects at least five times each since I’ve been at BU, and I’m only a sophomore. It is your job as a columnist to come up with something original, something that no one has thought to discuss. You could have discussed the problems with the Catholic Church or the problems with Bush calling countries an “axis of evil.” Or even straying from the heavy politics, you could give an insightful opinion on who deserves an Oscar, or your feelings on animal testing. However, you have done none of that. You simply write because you have to turn in 800 words or less every Wednesday.
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