Voices Unheard

Tercentenary Theater has echoed with the voices of students performing memorial readings three times in just the past month. The names of Holocaust victims were read to remind students of the atrocity and to illustrate that even when named steadily from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m., only a mere fraction of the victims could be memorialized. Earth Day followed soon afterwards, and lists of endangered species were repeated into a microphone. And last week's Take Back the Night event sponsored another public reading to memorialize the victims of domestic violence.

While we recognize that the student groups sponsoring each of the readings had noble intentions, these memorial readings have been ineffective at promoting the awareness on campus that the groups sought to generate.

It's true that Tercentenary Theatre is an optimum location to appeal to large masses of the student body at once. Students continuously Sever to Widener to the Yard on the hour for a majority . But at the same time, we are doing just that: running from one section back to our dorm rooms or off to grab a "fly-by" lunch before our next class. Rarely do we even pause to peruse the updated kiosks or study posted flyers. If we pay such little attention to humorous brightly colored posters, why would we be any more responsive to the monotone of muted voices?

Unfortunately, because students rarely have the time to pay attention to the solemn readings, the memorials fade into the background, becoming indiscernible rhetoric. It is an offensive spectacle, hardly fulfilling the readings' intentions, when students tramp through Tercentenary Theater without even registering that the stream of names represent blameless victims or that the stories of domestic violence are authentic and worthy of reflection.

Also distasteful was the juxtaposition of the Holocaust memorial readings and Earth Day's endangered species readings. True, both were intended to be grave reminders of innocent victims. But when the names of various types of winged mammals were read with the same earnestness as the names of Holocaust victims, it did a disservice to both causes. The extinction of animals is, of course, a horrible occurrence in itself but its gravity is simply not comparable to the organized malicious slaughter of a particular ethnic group. All efforts should be made to avoid evoking that comparison in people's minds.

Take Back the Night's vivid descriptions of domestic violence against women were also troublesome. Instead of simply reading the names of victims to demonstrate the abundance of domestic violence, the readers elaborated with vivid descriptions of violence and abuse. Stories of machetes and beatings made the readings more of an exhibition than an effort to promote student awareness.

We recognize the student groups' freedom of speech and ability to preach from the steps of Memorial Church or Widener, or wherever else they find appropriate. But there are more effective and certainly more sensitive ways to educate others about these issues.

Though they might not target as large an audience, at least intimate lectures, informational pamphlets and student discussions would ensure that such powerful subjects be addressed with deserving dignity rather than being drowned by competing student chatter and gusts of wind.

Unfortunately, because students rarely have the time to pay attention to the solemn readings, the memorials fade into the background, becoming indiscernible rhetoric. It is an offensive spectacle, hardly fulfilling the readings' intentions, when students tramp through Tercentenary Theater without even registering that the stream of names represent blameless victims or that the stories of domestic violence are authentic and worthy of reflection.

Also distasteful was the juxtaposition of the Holocaust memorial readings and Earth Day's endangered species readings. True, both were intended to be grave reminders of innocent victims. But when the names of various types of winged mammals were read with the same earnestness as the names of Holocaust victims, it did a disservice to both causes. The extinction of animals is, of course, a horrible occurrence in itself but its gravity is simply not comparable to the organized malicious slaughter of a particular ethnic group. All efforts should be made to avoid evoking that comparison in people's minds.

Take Back the Night's vivid descriptions of domestic violence against women were also troublesome. Instead of simply reading the names of victims to demonstrate the abundance of domestic violence, the readers elaborated with vivid descriptions of violence and abuse. Stories of machetes and beatings made the readings more of an exhibition than an effort to promote student awareness.

We recognize the student groups' freedom of speech and ability to preach from the steps of Memorial Church or Widener, or wherever else they find appropriate. But there are more effective and certainly more sensitive ways to educate others about these issues.

Though they might not target as large an audience, at least intimate lectures, informational pamphlets and student discussions would ensure that such powerful subjects be addressed with deserving dignity rather than being drowned by competing student chatter and gusts of wind.