On Monday, Butler University students will hit the polls ready to vote for the next Student Government Association president.

For those reading this very editorial, they’re seeing the giant headline that shows that the staff of The Collegian approves of Mike Keller and found him to be the best-suited candidate in the election.

You’ll see that six staff members abstained. I am one of those six.

Abstinence is the way to go with endorsements, especially during a fragile time in media.

Throughout my time practicing journalism at this fine institution, I’ve been told countless times to never let the source or the reader know what I’m thinking unless I’m appearing on an opinion page, and even then, I should know when not to cross any lines.

News outlets seem to just ignore those lines and slap their stamp of approval on a candidate just because it’s election season or because it’s the tradition.

Regardless of the tradition of endorsing a candidate, there’s no place in the newspapers for special treatment of
anyone.

The most that a newspaper endorsement can do is to tell people which candidate they should vote for.

That’s why candidates have press secretaries.

If a candidate wants to get ahead in the race, stop talking to the newspaper and start showing why he or she will be the best SGA president ever.

Credibility with the press is at an all-time low with Americans, according to the annual Pew Research poll on the media. Only 38 percent of Americans view news media outlets as moral.

At this time where all media outlets—The Collegian included—are working to improve their reputation for balanced news coverage, it is a step in the wrong direction to back a candidate.

By putting our staff support toward a candidate, those at The Collegian may have damaged the ability to look fair, balanced and level-minded when covering the remainder of the election and next year’s SGA.

A candidate who didn’t receive The Collegian endorsement could say that any future coverage of him or her was not in a fair
light.

And if Keller wins, we run the risk of him thinking that we’re never going to question any of his
actions.

Endorsing a candidate jeopardizes the credibility and reputation of future coverage in The
Collegian.

Persuasion, yelling and calling into question the moral character of an opponent are all interesting and predictable components of a modern argument, especially one between young adults.

In the hustle and bustle of college, it seems that students are losing the perspective that comes with civil discourse.

Instead of arguing from a logical standpoint and accepting the inevitable counterargument, students nowadays are convinced that their arguments are superior at all times.

After attending Student Government Association’s assembly on Oct. 26, it occurred to me that this is a massive problem to have among college students.

There are several factors that have contributed to this transition away from logical arguments into deranged yelling matches.

The first is social media.

The Internet as a whole, whether it be comment boards, forums, Facebook or Twitter, has contributed to the systematic breakdown of argumentation.

The Internet provides a level of anonymity that breeds a courageous attitude and inspires Internet users to say whatever they want, essentially, wherever they want.

This attitude has transcended our online world and is now commonplace in our society.

People seem to have forgotten the concept that they must pause to hear the rebuttal from their opponent.

They have also forgotten that when arguing, an actual stance must be reached by each party in lieu of gross generalizations.

My generation is suffering from a loss of argumentation etiquette, compliments of constant Internet use and availability.

The second factor involving the transition away from arguments is a misinterpretation of the First Amendment.

The First Amendment allows anyone have protected speech, among other rights.

However, most forget that it also allows someone with a differing argument to say what he or she wants as well.

A firm grasp of this concept will help current youth argue in a more productive fashion.

Plus, proving someone’s argument wrong with his or her own logic is the best part.

But the opponent’s opinion can never be known if a party simply refuses to hear it.

The third factor is the media.

Turn on any political news channel around 7 p.m. on a given weeknight. Scroll through the programming, and the viewer is bound to see a roundtable of eloquent political professionals arguing with one another to the point of shouting.

This also is negatively impacting the way that we see arguments, especially in the professional sphere.

Instead of the “winner” of an argument being the person with the most well-reasoned argument, it appears to be that the person who yells the loudest is the one who is ultimately considered “right.”

Not only is this inaccurate, but it’s lazy.

Anyone can shout and yell about a certain topic ad nauseam; it takes more effort to develop a concrete stance and support it with evidence.

Let’s throw this childish argument format that we have grown so accustomed to out the window.

Engaging in civil discourse not only prepares students for the real world where inarticulate opinions aren’t tolerated, but it makes students more accepting of the fact that differing opinions, and the subsequent arguments, are unavoidable and equally as important.

If Butler University’s basketball superstitions, “turtle-neck” socks and craze over Blue II hasn’t already won the heart of the nation, then leave it up to a marriage proposal to do the trick.

Junior Scott Vail proposed to his girlfriend, sophomore Christine Fisher, in front of news cameras after the March 26 game against University of Florida during the student celebration along Hampton Drive. A surprised Fisher responded, surrounded by a large group of friends and members of the media screaming with excitement with a simple, “Yeah, I will.”

News broadcasters in four states and even in India and Brazil have since aired the proposal.

But was the proposal legitimate or just a crazy stunt to get on television?

The answer is a little bit complicated and it’s a little bit of both.

“No one knew—it wasn’t a planned deal with anyone,” Vail said. “I’m just really spontaneous.

“She was wearing a ring on her right hand so I grabbed it and I just went for it.”

A friend of Vail’s grabbed a nearby cameraman to capture the moment as a group started to form around the couple.

“I was completely unaware of the situation,” Fisher said. “I just couldn’t believe he was doing it and it was hard to comprehend that it was actually going to happen.”

Vail said he had been thinking about proposing to Fisher for some time and considered doing it after, “Butler wins the national championship game.”

“That was my warm-up, practice proposal,” Vail said. “We’re going to get married one day so it’s OK to do a practice run. I’m just getting ready for the real thing.”

Fisher said the proposal wasn’t as real to her because she didn’t know if Vail was serious at the time, and with all the cameras, things were crazy.

“Honestly, if he actually had legitimately proposed, I probably would have said yes,” she said. “I thought it was hilarious and it was pretty sweet.”

Vail invited Fisher to change her relationship status to “engaged” on Facebook, but joked that nothing had been changed as of yet.

“She wouldn’t accept it,” he said. “I’m about to put ‘it’s complicated’ because I’m really confused right now.

“I’m just hoping for a click on the yes button.”

Fisher said she, “isn’t trying to schedule wedding cake tastings,” but that they both know that the sincerity of their relationship and marriage is, “definitely something we see happening in the future.”

Fisher’s mother, Theresa, said she and her husband got a kick out of the aired proposal.

“The entire Fisher side of the family are jokers,” she said. “When my husband proposed to me I didn’t believe him and thought it was another one of his pranks.”

Theresa said she and her husband were a little—jokingly—dismayed by Fisher’s choice of words in her response to the proposal.

“We’ve always instructed her to say ‘Yes,’ not ‘Yeah,’” she said. “All that private schooling for the last 14 years and that’s the best she could come up with?

“We’re fearful that graduate school is definitely out of the question if they ever see that news story.”

Friends of Vail, junior Mitch VanderHagen and sophomore Shaine McCluskey, insisted that the proposal was not at all a joke.

“According to previous talks with Scott about his feelings, it’s always been his dream to have a romantic proposal that would end up on TV,” McCluskey said.

McCluskey said Vail is the type to do something spontaneous, but he is also genuine in his feelings for Fisher and wants everything to be perfect for her, including intentions to help Fisher pay for law school after graduation.

“I know it is important for Scott, and I want it to be known that Scott is so deeply in love with Christine,” he said.

VanderHagen said Vail has every intention to propose again in the future, in a more traditional manner and without the news crew, to suit Fishers’ personality.

“She is a lot more traditional and that isn’t her type of thing at all,” he said. “Scott would be the star role in ‘The Hangover’ and Christine would star in ‘Touched by an Angel.’ They always say opposites attract.”

VanderHagen said he has never seen two people more right for one another and that Vail had told him previously that he intended to marry Fisher.

“The truth is, these two absolutely love each other,” he said. “Scott gets this look in his eye when she’s around. It’s a look that he doesn’t get any other time of the day unless he gets a chopper gunner when he’s playing Call of Duty.

“These two were made for each other, like macaroni and cheese, like peanut butter and jelly, like ice cream and hot fudge, like the Dawgs and a national championship.”

The National Eating Disorders Association reported that 10 million females and 1 million males in the United States struggle with eating disorders.

The association found 80 percent of women surveyed expressed dissatisfaction with their bodies.

The students of Peers Advocating Wellness for Students want to do something to change this.

According to Sarah Barnes, PAWS faculty adviser, some students in the organization were interested in addressing eating disorders and negative body image.

A student suggested screening the film “America the Beautiful.”

The film was accompanied by a four-member student panel who stayed afterwards to share their stories and answer students’ questions. These students had personally dealt with eating disorders.

Through the film, “America the Beautiful,” filmmaker Darryl Roberts attempts to answer the question, “Why do Americans obsess so much over beauty and appearance?” The film explores issues such as media images, plastic surgery and cosmetic companies.

Ultimately, the message was largely the same, the emphasis on external beauty is simply a part of our society and nothing can be done about it.

Members of the student panel, however, had something different to say.

“There were some parts where it was really hard for me to watch [the movie] because they did talk about numbers and sizes,” sophomore Becky Shields said.”It’s so aggravating that it’s funny.

“It’s like ‘Wow, those people really think that,’ but it was hilarious and it kind of turns everything into a big joke.

“Why do we think that [about our bodies?] It’s so dumb.”

Shields and the other three members of the student panel opened up about their own experiences struggling with eating disorders.

Shields said she struggled for seven years before she was sent to an eating disorder clinic in Arizona called Remuda Ranch.

Because of her personal experience, Shields said  she encourages other students to support friends or family members who might be struggling with an eating disorder.

“Just love them and be there for them no matter what,” Shields said. “It sounds so simple because it really is.

“I can’t even explain what it feels like to be loved like that.”

The screening of the film was a way for the members of PAWS to wrap up a week dedicated to decreasing negative body image around campus.

“Last week was national ‘Fat Talk Free Week’ which was actually something Delta Delta Delta headed up,” Shields said.

She also said the Campaign for Real Beauty was involved in last week’s events through Operation Beautiful.

“This was our way of following up and bringing awareness [about body image and disordered eating],” Shields said.

Students at the event were reminded that eating disorders are complicated mental disorders and are about much more than just food.

Students were told that they can do their part to help.

As Roberts says at the end of the film, “Find the beauty that’s already there,” and remember that you are beautiful just the way you are.