"Ask me about my wiener!" A reference to the movie "Accepted"? Or a sign held by students greeting freshmen here in Duluth on UMD Move-In Day?
Answer: both.
Earlier this month, the tradition of greeting freshmen on Duluth streets was in full swing. Not to anyone's surprise, some people in Duluth were less than pleased. I was not one of them.
I find it extremely immature to complain about or to ticket college students who want to have a little fun and keep up tradition. As a junior, I have seen these signs for three straight years, and I have never had a problem with them. If a student wants to hold up a sign that reads, "Wanted: DILFs," then let him or her hold that sign until the sun goes down. It is within students' rights to hold those signs, whether anyone else likes it or not.
I have heard folks complain that the signs are a form of harassment toward women. I do agree they are a bit vulgar, but the students are not going around feeling up girls. They are only signs, like the ones you may see while driving down Interstate 35 -- you know, the numerous signs talking about how every baby is a blessing and that abortion is terrible. Don't billboards like those harass or demean women who have had or who are considering an abortion? I believe those billboards are offensive to some people -- just like the signs at UMD. But it is within our rights to hold or post signs about whatever we want.
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It saddens me to say we now live in a hypersensitive society where anything and everything needs to be politically correct lest it be followed by a lawsuit. What happened to our sense of humor? I realize racism and sexism exist in the world, but I believe we all need to remember how to take a joke.
Heck, maybe next year, I'll be out there holding a sign that reads, "Wanted: humor."
Ethan Walker is an opinion writer for the Statesman, the student newspaper at the University of Minnesota Duluth, which originally published this commentary.
