Where to share?
This week has been packed with opinions, from what I’ve heard between the basement of Bobs and the far reaches of Waterville. With history happening regarding schools’ COVID-19 mask mandates, Russo-Ukrainian war developments, and equal pay for athletes, there is plenty to talk about. Many of the necessary discussions are indeed happening as people process world news through the many available forms of media.
Mostly social media. Instagram stories and Yik Yak posts contain a lot of content from the most heated discussions among students who may or may not have these conversations face to face. Online platforms are useful, as long as they are not shuffled so the most convenient app is the source of daily shouts and information intake. While people can connect as directly or anonymously as they choose, I have heard more complaints about the ineffective gossip that increases on more socially oriented platforms. This makes sense, since informal spaces make it easy to post a quick phrase, an abbreviated opinion.
These opinions are more likely to appear scattered throughout the channels of your phone than printed in the pages of The Colby Echo. But if the opinions are circulating, why isn’t this page packed?
The premise of the page welcomes all kinds of submissions. “We remind our readers that the ideas expressed in the Opinions section, columns, and elsewhere reflect the views of the author and not necessarily The Colby Echo as a whole.” This is how The Colby Echo introduces our opinions page on the website. The history of the opinion piece from The New York Times is interesting: “Opinion Guest Essays at The New York Times make an argument, based in fact, drawn from an author’s expertise or experience and delivered in the author’s own voice. (These essays were formerly known as Op-Eds because they appeared in print opposite the editorial page.)”
The Colby Echo’s one page Opinions section is a much less extensive collection of essays, monologues, and streams of consciousness. As newspaper columns adhere to strict grammar rules, there are structures and conventions people tend to keep in mind when writing or posting to any platform. A passionate opinion through the right avenues can effectively reach a wide audience, but there are many popular platforms available. A compilation of these platforms follows, with the official definitions and slogans of the platform themselves. Each presents a way to communicate freely. Every so often, content overlaps, and friends might post fundraisers or awareness of wars abroad or political messages. That means we have the power to choose our filters and audiences. Does a piece need four rounds of editing? Does a post need an audience for every virtual connection you have?
I am of the opinion that social media content should be different from what we read from a news source, even if the way we upload or share these posts overlaps.
SGA even sent an email to remind individuals that Civil Discourse is a platform more conducive to posting informed and multifaceted opinions. Every site has different filters, and so does every writer. Post, submit, share, write, explain, examine, upvote, like, and read. Opinions are everywhere, and choosing the right outlet provides a better chance of finding the right audience, and increases the potential for creating solutions.
Not everyone needs a personal Opinions column, but it exists for those who want to share.
~ Molly George ’23
