Is the Lunatic Losing It?
By Sanyog Kumar JGSM '10
Issue date: 12/1/09 Section: Perspectives
This opinion editorial was chosen as one of the top two submissions in the NBA 5670 Management Writing course as part of Cornell Business Journal's collaboration with Prof. Charlotte Rosen.
Last year, when for the first time I read the Lunatic-Johnson's print version of the Jay Leno show-I found it really humorous. I thought the paper had the pulse of the school and was humorous in a non-offensive way (well, maybe not completely but to a large extent). The biggest plus for the Lunatic was that it chose issues that we students could relate to.
But after reading the latest issue of the Lunatic, I wasn't sure that it was funny anymore. The latest issue was an unscheduled issue that covered the now infamous e-mail leak incident between two Johnson School staff members. After reading the issue, it seemed to me that the Lunatic was trying desperately to be funny. Moreover, in trying to do so, I think it crossed the line. I am aware of the concepts of freedom of speech and expression, and really, who am I to decide what line the Lunatic must or must not cross? But I do think that the main idea behind publishing something like the Lunatic is to have some innocent fun and make light of some of the current happenings in the school. However, I don't think there was any innocent fun in the current issue of the Lunatic.
The email leak incident was a serious issue. It was not just scandalous but must have also turned the lives of those two staff members and their families upside down. I am not saying that the conduct of the two staff members was appropriate, especially in a work environment, but at the same time I don't think that the timing or the content of the Lunatic's issue was right. The two members were already down in the dumps, humiliated and, in all probability, facing disciplinary action. So I am not clear what the Lunatic was trying to achieve by embarrassing them further. Moreover, I am sure the incident would have gravely affected the staff members' families, relatives and friends; in short it would have completely changed not just their lives, but also the lives of many other people connected to them. So I don't think that at this time, the Lunatic or anybody else had a right to be insensitive or judgmental and cause further embarrassment to these families. Somehow, I fail to see the funny side of the incident that caused pain and humiliation to so many people. Moreover, I think with this issue, the Lunatic lost its purpose of having some clean fun.
Last year, when for the first time I read the Lunatic-Johnson's print version of the Jay Leno show-I found it really humorous. I thought the paper had the pulse of the school and was humorous in a non-offensive way (well, maybe not completely but to a large extent). The biggest plus for the Lunatic was that it chose issues that we students could relate to.
But after reading the latest issue of the Lunatic, I wasn't sure that it was funny anymore. The latest issue was an unscheduled issue that covered the now infamous e-mail leak incident between two Johnson School staff members. After reading the issue, it seemed to me that the Lunatic was trying desperately to be funny. Moreover, in trying to do so, I think it crossed the line. I am aware of the concepts of freedom of speech and expression, and really, who am I to decide what line the Lunatic must or must not cross? But I do think that the main idea behind publishing something like the Lunatic is to have some innocent fun and make light of some of the current happenings in the school. However, I don't think there was any innocent fun in the current issue of the Lunatic.
The email leak incident was a serious issue. It was not just scandalous but must have also turned the lives of those two staff members and their families upside down. I am not saying that the conduct of the two staff members was appropriate, especially in a work environment, but at the same time I don't think that the timing or the content of the Lunatic's issue was right. The two members were already down in the dumps, humiliated and, in all probability, facing disciplinary action. So I am not clear what the Lunatic was trying to achieve by embarrassing them further. Moreover, I am sure the incident would have gravely affected the staff members' families, relatives and friends; in short it would have completely changed not just their lives, but also the lives of many other people connected to them. So I don't think that at this time, the Lunatic or anybody else had a right to be insensitive or judgmental and cause further embarrassment to these families. Somehow, I fail to see the funny side of the incident that caused pain and humiliation to so many people. Moreover, I think with this issue, the Lunatic lost its purpose of having some clean fun.
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