I'm writing today as a concerned alumna of Ohio University.
To the Editor,
I'm writing today as a concerned alumna of Ohio University. I was both shocked and appalled to see my alma mater splattered all over the media due to Megan Marzec’s “blood bucket” challenge.
While I am a proud supporter of the First Amendment and the entire United States Constitution, I believe that there is a time and place for such verbal and symbolic speech. Though I have strong opinions of my own on the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict, if I had created a video of similar nature, it is very likely that I would no longer be employed.
It is one thing to have a personal set of beliefs, but it is a completely different story when your own personal agenda is pushed into light instead of the student and university agenda you were elected to represent. By identifying herself as the Student Senate President, Megan Marzec made this issue more than just her own personal belief. As a public figure on Ohio University’s campus, what is said and done by Marzec — and every Student Senate president before and after her — is more closely scrutinized than some random freshman walking down Court Street. That just comes with the territory of holding a position of power on campus! If you can’t handle keeping your own passionate opinions to yourself while representing the university, then maybe this job isn’t for you.
The job of a Student Senate is to represent the entire student body, though elected by a smaller group. The Student Senate President should have the utmost respect for all students, even ones that do not support the same opinions and beliefs. Instead, what Megan Marzec has done is create an even larger divide among an already divided campus.
Student Senate should first and foremost focus on the issues most relevant to campus. While it is so important to be both aware of and informed when it comes to global affairs, the verbal and symbolic speech displayed by Marzec was both unprofessional and disrespectful to President McDavis (who nominated her for the ice bucket challenge) and select student groups on campus. Objectivity is key, and Marzec most certainly missed the mark with her representation of Ohio University in this instance.
Last night, four Ohio University students who did not agree with Marzec’s opinion were arrested and now must attend a court hearing for a misdemeanor that could result in jail time. How is it that Marzec’s opinion is exercising her right to freedom of speech and the dissenting students is a disruption? I would not even have known Megan Marzec’s name had she not posted a controversial and sensationalized video, which just goes to show that nothing positive has come of her presidency thus far. As an alumna of Ohio University, it saddens me to think of what a joke the student leadership on our campus has become.
Marzec was quoted as saying, “I will never apologize for standing with the people of Palestine.” That is all fine and well because the people she really should be apologizing to are the students of Ohio University for NOT standing with them. Marzec was elected by a few to represent all and instead of unifying a campus that has so much to celebrate, she has created a hostile environment due to her own personal political agenda.
All political opinions aside, this was completely disrespectful to the ice bucket challenge and anyone affected by ALS. She managed to use a viral charity initiative to push her own political agenda. As a family member of someone who recently passed from ALS, I found this to be exceptionally offensive.
There has never been a time where I have not been proud to be a Bobcat, but this situation came pretty damn close.
Meghan Foreman is an Ohio University alumna.
