Over 170 parents, students, and friends gathered Saturday to combine beautiful weather and funk music while raising money for the American Cancer society in the form of a benefit concert. Organized by Millersville student Matt Coin, as an event for his Relay for Life team, the event accumulated $1152, making this the biggest individual event of any member on his 30-person team. The idea for a benefit concert originated about two months ago when Coin approached friend Brad Mastrangelo, keyboardist for local student funk band Chaos Thompson.

Chaos Thompson performed in front of over 170 people to raise money for the American Cancer Society. The benefit concert raised $1152 dollars.

“Chaos Thompson had thrown events multiple times and I came to them because I thought it would be a creative way to raise money for my team,” said Coin.
Twenty Millersville students came together to organize the event with in-depth planning beginning about a month ago. A budget was made for food, alcohol, backyard fencing, wristbands, and various other materials. Local businesses made generous contributions such as a banner from Signarama, 400 hotdogs by Supervalu, and 100 discounted hamburgers from Colonial Meat Market in West Chester.
All students were welcome to attend but there was a strict over 21 drinking age distinguished by wristbands received at the door. For a ten-dollar donation participants could enjoy endless food, drinks, and live music.
The event began with the Brown Sound comprised of members Dan Brown, Zach Teti, Mike Isaac and Christopher Goodwin. Headlining was Chaos Thompson with members Brad Mastrangelo, Rory Flynn, Chris Boullata, Sean Case, Jimmy Swartz, Ewan Mccall, and Kyle Montondo. A celebrity appearance made the event a memorable one for all.
“Our friend reached out to Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Bernie Worrell of Parliament-Funkadelic fame and we were surprised by how quickly he got back to us,” Coin said.
Coincidentally, the Bernie Worrell Orchestra was playing at the Chameleon Club in Lancaster that night. He agreed to stop by with the majority of his band for a few hours. They stayed for parts of both musical sets and surprised the crowd who were not expecting a legendary musician to be in their presence.

The band Chaos Thompson and fans celebrate after a succesfull event.

Although Coin walked in the Relay for Life last year, this was his first year registered as an active team member. His father passed away from pancreatic cancer three years ago, which motivated him to become involved with other family members on his team who all have a personal connection to the cause. He chose music as a way to fundraise because he feels there is not enough live music at Millersville.
?We wanted to separate ourselves from the stereotype and prove that Millersville students can contribute to the community in positive ways,” said Coin.
The goal for the event was 150 people and over 170 arrived and contributed to the success. After seeing how smoothly it was conducted, Coin hopes to make this a tradition for years to come.
“I’m extremely proud of how it turned out, and I was moved that everyone felt compelled to donate to such a personal cause for me. I want to thank everyone that came and showed support for such a righteous cause,” said Coin.
Senior Brad Mastrangelo also commented on the success of the event, “When I heard the total, it was one of the proudest moments of my life. I can speak for the other seniors that were involved in planning this event when I say that this was the perfect high note to go out on before graduation and the perfect way to end four years at Millersville.”
Over 4 million people in over 20 countries participate in Relay for Life yearly to raise over $400 million for the American Cancer Society. For more information or to donate to the cause visit ACSevents.com.

As we all know, the choice of the 2013 Spring Undergraduate Commencement speaker has been a hot topic around campus and within the Millersville community. Students have been invited to come to our Student Senate meetings to speak with us and let us know their feelings on the situation. We thank those students and MU community members who attended and shared their thoughts with us. In response to student opinion, the Senate has been working hard to obtain answers to questions that have been posed, as well as initiate change for the future. The Student Senate has drafted and implemented an action plan to address these concerns for both the procedure taken to select the commencement speaker and the policies of Governor Corbett and his administration regarding public higher education.
First, we sent a letter to the current administration asking that the selection process of how commencement speakers are chosen be altered to include more student opinion. We believe that if the students have a chance to have a voice in choosing their own commencement speaker, situations like the one we are currently facing could be avoided. The response that we have been sent from Dr. Anderson speaks of the Commencement Speaker Selection Committee to be guaranteed to meet each year, at least once and the possibility of expanding student representation on this committee. The Student Senate plans on following up this response with suggestions of how to best allow the graduating class’ voice to be heard.
Second, the Student Senate is planning to facilitate a silent demonstration of dissent during the 2013 Spring Undergraduate Commencement for those graduating seniors and/or their families who wish to participate. By providing a visual symbol of dissent, those who wish can show their protest during commencement, without disrupting the ceremony for the other graduates or their families. The Student Senate with the assistance of some students has selected a symbol which is a gold armband. The Student Senate will be distributing the armbands to those who sign the corresponding “Declaration of Dissent.” This declaration is available in the Student Senate office (SMC 118F) as well as potentially an online format (details to come). The “Declaration of Dissent” shows the displeasure and disagreement with the policies of the Governor and his administration regarding public higher education as well as Millersville University’s procedure concerning the selection of the 2013 Undergraduate Commencement Speaker.
Finally, the Student Senate in the future would like to host a Millersville University Pride campaign to showcase our students and our alumni. This campaign is still underdevelopment and more details will be released as they become available.
We, as your Student Senate, are here for you and to voice your concerns, as well as to try to find the best course of action on how to deal with concerns presented to us while maintaining open channels of communication. Having a good working relationship with both the students and the administration is the key to having a successful relationship and implementing positive change. If you have anything that you would like us to address, on the topic of 2013 Undergraduate Commencement or another subject, please feel free to contact us. We hold our weekly meetings at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday evenings in SMC room 118, we can be contacted at villestudentsenate@gmail.com, and our office is located in SMC room 118F.
We thank you for your support and hope to hear your thoughts and suggestions.

Millersville University Student Senate

This past Friday was not an ideal day for Millersville baseball, as East Stroudsburg played like a team on a mission. Millersville dropped both games in the double header, but it’s not like these two games put Millersville in a terrible spot, or put them up against the wall in any way. It simply delayed the Marauders from clinching the PSAC East.
Game 1 on Friday was taken by ESU, with a score of 2-0. ESU pitcher, Brian Ernst, had a fantastic day as he kept Millersville players to only three hits. He had 15 strikeouts, and in his complete game performance, he also managed to get two hits. For ESU however, their break came in the form of Chris Knott’s solo home run in the second inning that really put them on top.
Millersville pitcher, Tim Mayza, went 6.2 innings, and recorded 7 strikeouts while allowing 8 hits and 1 earned run on the day. As for Millersville’s offense, the Marauders only really had one solid chance at getting some runs on the board, when Evan King and Jeremy Musser each got singles with two outs in the sixth inning, but following this however, Zach Stone fell victim to another one of Ernst’s strike outs on the day.

Despite being swept by the Warriors in their first series, the Marauders came back to return the favor in the second doubleheader.

Game two went a little better for MU in terms of offense as they put up three runs in this effort. Millersville got off to a solid start in terms of how quickly they got base runners on in the early onset of the game. They took their lead and added to it in the fourth inning when they went up 3-0.
Tad Barton was solid through the first four innings, but after walking two batters in the fifth inning, and getting two outs, ESU smacked three consecutive singles which brought in four straight runs.
Millersville threatened in the sixth inning when they put two on, but they came up just short of delivering the big hit. Millersville got 9 hits in this game, which was much better than their three in the last game, and players Evan King, Zach Stone, and Tyler McDonald all recorded two hits.
These games were nothing more than a slight bump in the road for MU, and look for them to bounce back in a big way on Saturday.

It was Millersville against themselves on Saturday, and Millersville won.
The boundless pale blue sky provided the Marauders’ outdoor track and field team a splendid opportunity to put on a show at the Lock Haven Invitational, and that’s just what they did. Millersville snapped two of the University’s records, as they were flying high at The Haven’s Eagles’ nest.

Erin Madison’s success, along with others, propelled the Lady Marauders to a solid performance.

First up was freshman Erin Madison in the 400-meter hurdles. Not only did she place first among the field, but her time of 1:01.52 was a half-second ahead of Millersville’s school record, 1:02.00, set in in 1983 by Joyce VanGinhoven. Her time was a PSAC qualifying mark and an NCAA provisional time. In a compressed, 100-meter hurdles, Madison shined as well, finishing in 15.17, which placed her in second in the preliminaries.
Madison’s success leaked into the 4×100-meter relay, where she joined the trio of Kiara Allen, Erin Mason and Kayla Naughton to lay another school record to rest. By the skin of their teeth, they edged the nearly 20-year-old record of 48.33 with their own 48.03. Although the time was the best in Millersville’s day, it fell less than a second short of East Stroudsburg’s first place finish of 47.37.
Carrying the baton over to the 100-meter dash, Mason also finished second with a 12.51 time, slightly behind Mansfield’s Olivia Lopes, who finished just four-tenths of a second ahead of the Marauder sophomore.
In the 200-meter dash, Allen continued the trend of top-two finishes, with her 25.26. Naughton, not far behind her at 25.62, finished out the top five in the race. Each of the times by those Lady Marauders were career-bests – not to mention PSAC-qualifying.
The freshman duo of Katie Hild and Elizabeth Reese snagged top-10 finishes as well in the 1,500-meter run. Hild, with her 5:03.97, placed fifth, while Reese followed five runners behind her at 5:09.05.
In other Marauder running news, Amanda Long, Megan Meyer and Sarah Mulvey placed in the top 15 in the 400-meter dash. Five more Millersville athletes gained traction in the longer runs, as well. The 5,000-meter run served as a 20-minute blessing for Sarah Fink, a senior, as she finished in third. Furthermore, in the 3,000-meter run, Mallory Austin was the fifth jogger to cross the line; pacing behind and rounding out the top nine were more Marauders, Emily Leighow, Megan O’Neill and Samantha Martin.
Putting away the crutches and pulling out the pogo sticks, Millersville’s Mary Stewart was up for the task of contributing in the jumping scene.
In the long jump, the Gettysburg graduate flew for 5.30 meters and landed a mere .02 meters ahead of third place’s Danielle Kuhn of West Chester. The jump’s length was the longest by a Marauder this season and solidified a spot in the PSAC’s next week. Also, Stewart cemented herself in the top 10 of the high jump, curling her body over the pole at the 1.52-meter mark for a number good enough for eighth overall.
While the agile runners and jumpers were hurling themselves over their competition, Black and Gold’s Kellie Farris and Ann Kovacs settled with heaving hammers.
Trading school records back and forth like Pokemon cards, Farris and Kovacs have dominated the hammer throw in recent weeks. After dealing the record over to Kovacs last week, Farris was just .04 meters away from returning the favor on Saturday. As Kovacs loomed over her at fourth place with her 47.55-meter throw, Farris’ 48.48 was good enough for the bronze.
In the midst of all the inner-Millersville competition, Vanessa Hower threw her name out there, and also threw the hammer throw for 45.41 meters, which was good enough for seventh place. Seemingly working out the kinks in her arm, though, she flourished in the discus throw by qualifying for the PSAC championships with her 38.97 meter-, first place-throw. A Pottstown-bred freshman by the name of Kelly Kardos also finished in 14th with a strong throw of 27.80 meters.
With lots of heated competition boiling within the Marauders track and field squad, the momentum that stems from that will fuel them for the PSAC Outdoor Championships, hosted by Millersville at Biemesderfer Stadium. Will the home-field advantage give the new record-holders an edge over the crème of the crop of the PSAC? On May 9th, that question will be answered.

The Districts, Lititz based band, played a two hour set in the Lyet Lobby during First Friday

Friday May 3, 2013 brought the monthly festivities for First Friday to downtown Lancaster once again.
First Friday is always about appreciating and celebrating the arts in downtown Lancaster. Many exciting events can be seen throughout the city, serving the purpose of appreciating local art. More people than usual are out walking along the sidewalks soaking up the sun, especially in the beginning of Spring, and taking advantage of enjoying a good meal outside and listening to music.
This past Friday, Millersville’s Ware Center hosted several events to make it a great night for everyone who attended.

The ArtWalk was held along Prince Street, in which many were able to view art galleries all evening.

Local Spotlights helped show off a few of Lancaster’s great eateries in the city. A table was set up for La Petite Patisserie in the Lyet Lobby showcasing several different flavors and looks of delicious cupcakes. There was a cost per cup cake but that didn’t stop anyone from wanting a few. On the Mezzanine level, Seasons Olive Oil & Vinegar Taproom hosted free tasting for a few of their select foods and attracted many people to try their unique food.
On the third floor of the Ware Center in the Grand Salon looking over Prince Street, MU’s Graphic & Interactive Design students hosted their Senior Showcase. This event was free and attracted many other students, public, friends and families. Mac computers were set up throughout the venue. On the first screen, attendees could see a list of seniors that were exhibited in the showcase, by clicking on a picture of the senior an entire profile of them and their work showed up. One could find their resume for potential employers, an “about me”, their work, their experience, and what they plan to do.

Max Smith, a senior at MU, plays the violin along Prince St.

Seniors that showcased their works were Chet Klinedinst, Megan Fanelli, Paul Ware, Sam Seeberger. Felicia Eads, Aaron Scheidler, DJ Ramsay, Michelle Yardumian, Matt Feilmeier, Jared Adams, Adam Bitner, Amanda Miller, Leanne Walters, Ryan Beck, and Ariana James.
Seniors worked on their showcase all semester long but incorporated work they’ve done in the past,present, and art they have worked on outside of class assign ments.
The seniors worked hard to pull off this event and anyone who attended could see just that.
In the atrium of the Ware Center, the Philadelphia Phoenix professional ultimate Frisbee team hosted a sports demo. Many people gathered around to watch them play a short game of pick-up in the rather small area they had to play in. A table with flyers and a few PHL Phoenix merchandise was available to buy and be signed by the team, the team also handed out free tickets and talked to their audience about playing Ultimate Frisbee at a professional level. Several members were also seen giving hands on lessons to a few of the audience teaching them how to throw correctly.

The School District of Lancaster showcased all age groups of art work in the exhibit.

The school district of Lancaster hosted their student art exhibit in the Binns Room. Art was displayed from grade levels 1 through 12 and showcased a variety of different arts. Many family and friends came to look at and support the young artists.
Local band, The Districts from Lititz, PA, played a two hour set in the Lyet Lobby of the Ware Center. Consisting of four members; Rob Grote on Guitar and vocals, Mark Larson on Guitar and violin, Connor Jacobus on bass, and Braden Lawrence on percussion make up a unique sound your ears. They give the indie scene a new sound and look and something to look forward to. The Districts will be playing in the Lancaster area again at The Chameleon club on May 31st.

Along with First Friday, it was opening night for the Echo Valley Art Group exhibit.

The Echo Valley Art Group art exhibit had its opening night on First Friday attracting many people to the Regitz Gallery on the Mezzanine level. Many unique and interesting pieces of art were on display for all to see. A binder was available to exhibit attendees who wanted to learn more about the group itself, the artists and their works.
Just outside of the Ware Center, the ArtWalk took place all along Prince Street. Many who checked it out could hear local music up and down the street, smell the food of downtown eateries, and look at art exhibits by local artists.

One of the Local Spotlights of the night was La Petite Patisserie sampling tasty cupcakes.

To close the night, sold- out Marieann Meringolo performed in Steinmann Hall at 8 p.m. Originally from New York and is an award-winning vocalist, Marieann Meringolo performed with enthusiasm and a great spirit on Friday night. Many who attended were also able to go to a post- show reception with Ms. Meringolo. This was the only event of the night in which the public had to pay for.
As always, First Friday turned out to be a success. The feel of downtown Lancaster along with the personality of the people, the smells of the food and sounds of the music come a great vibe all together.

“Behind the Eye” tells the story of an incredible woman who goes from modeling in Paris to photography in World War II. If you’ve never heard of her one of the best ways to get to know Lee Miller is to watch the performance of Carson Kreitzer’s “Behind the Eye”. Though the play is based on a real person, it’s not just a historical account of her life. Lisa Jo Epstein makes Lee Miller pop off the stage as a powerful but sad figure trying to find her way in life. She brings the play over from Philadelphia at the Gas and Electric Arts theater.

The Story of Lee Miller, portrayed by Allison Wray, is a story of a journey to be told.

In “Behind the Eye” Lee Miller is looking back on her life and reflecting on her experiences. Two actress play Lee Miller, with Allison Wray as Lee Miller one and Sarah Williams A Lee Miller two. Though both were by far the biggest characters in the play Wray had more to do. She played Lee in the past and was the one having the experiences. Williams was the older Miller who often pause the scene and talk about what she was thinking at the time. The situation was a bit confusing at first, but it quickly became easy to follow over time. The two Miller’s played out like thoughts and arguments in her head.
It’s tough to summarize the structure but it can easily be divided up by the men in her life. She was with Man Ray and did absurdist art in Paris, then she went along with Aziz to Egypt. She got restless there and made her way back to Paris where she met Roland Penrose and began her longest relationship. She also had a brief fling with fellow photographer David Scherman.
The acting was solid, but none of the men really got a chance to stand out as their time on stage was limited due to the structure of the play. The bulk of the play was on the shoulders of Wray and Williams. The two actresses had good chemistry together and played off one another well. Epstein brought her own art people with her from Philadelphia give the production a special flair.
At one point towards the beginning of the play Miller looks into a mirror and several of the men in her life run around her in a circle while holding mirrors themselves. Music came on at key points to portray a certain mood. One of the highlights for me was when Miller returned to Paris. There was an absurdist costume party; people were wearing gas masks and long trench coats and the music and lighting were creepy and unnerving. The party goers danced in sync with the music and it all provided the perfect tone for the scene.
I read the play before seeing the play, but it might be better to see the play first and then go back and read it afterwards. Having two actresses play Lee Miller was a risk that ultimately paid off for Epstein as it works very well visually. “Behind the Eye” is a play full of risks that end up paying off.

In two weeks time the dumpsters will be overflowing with all of the unwanted decorations, clothes, and school supplies that everyone just had to have during the year. Instead of throwing your stuff in the trash, try some of these options:
1. Terracycle. In all the dorms there are boxes that specify which items can be terracycled. For those of you who don’t know, terracycling is recycling for those hard items such as pens and foil wrappers which are then turned into other stuff you can use. Get rid of your pens, makeup, shampoo bottles, markers, etc. and save the environment at the same time.

The frustration of what to do with unneeded belongings does not have to be overwhelming.

2. Donate your clothes. Why take your clothes home if you know you aren’t going to wear them again? “There’s always a collection box on campus. I usually put my clothes in there at the end of the semester,” says Paige Roberts, a junior education major. The Salvation Army has a box behind Harbold Hall in the parking lot with the PSECU atm. If you want to make sure it gets there, drive it to closest Good Will located on Rohrerstown Road.
3. Make some money. That’s right; you can make money off other stuff besides your books at the end of the semester. Ebay is a great way to sell your unwanted items. Setting up an account is easy and it’ll keep track of your expenses. Yes it does take time, but getting paid for your unwanted items is definitely a good bargain. You could also try going to a consignment shop and creating an account there. A consignment shop is where you give your clothes and other unwanted items like lights or desk fixtures to someone else to sell. The more you sell, the more you make. (Keep in mind the consigner will take a percentage.) Check out Miracles, Little Bo-tique and Next to New Fine Clothing in Lancaster for your consignment options.
4. Consider storing it. Just because you’re leaving campus for a few months over the summer (or to study abroad) doesn’t mean you have to get rid of all of your things! “I used to store some of my things I didn’t need until the fall with one of my friends that was staying for the summer,” says Roberts. If none of your friends are staying, check out local storage options. Chances are, renting a small storage unit won’t cost too much –and you can always split the cost with some friends who might want to store their stuff, too.
You’ll save yourself the hassle of getting rid of stuff, transporting things home, transporting things back to campus in the fall and/or having to spend money replacing things you really didn’t want to get rid of anyway. Whatever you decide to do, make sure it’s easy for you and your parents (if they’re helping you move out). Knowing where everything is will not only give you peace of mind, but help you enjoy your summer.

In this economy not only do students want to, but they need to save money while in College. You have spent your savings, loans and grant money, and have sacrificed in order to stay within your budget all semester. Now, as the semester comes to a close and everyone is preparing for finals, the age old question, “how much of a return can I make on those used textbooks,” comes to mind. Textbook buyback is one of the best ways to be smart about money.
The annual full-time tuition and fees at Millersville University, for Pennsylvania residences, comes to $8,926.50 for commuters and $18,390.50 if you live on campus; while non-residences are paying $28,604.50 annually. These hefty price tags do not include the price of parking on campus, meal plans or the price of textbooks. On average a student can expect to spend $1,168 on textbooks.

Textbook buyback is a good source of cash. For extra cash, consider selling your books on websites like Ebay or Chegg.

In order to ease the financial burden a little, most schools offer buyback programs at the end of the semester. The Millersville Bookstore will hold its textbook buyback from Monday May 13th through May 18th.
However, sometimes the school cannot offer the best buyback price. Instead of settling for a lower buyback offer, there are alternatives that may help to increase the return you receive on your textbooks.
If you are on a tight budget and have a stack of unused books, here are some tips you can use to earn some extra buyback money:
1. Sell the textbooks online. Start by looking for websites that do textbook buybacks.
2. Start selling earlier – when sites have reached their stock requirements, you might not be able to sell your book anymore, or prices may go down.
3. Make sure to compare sites. If you want to earn more money, don’t sell your book to the first site that you see. Find the one that will give you the most money for your book. If the site offers free shipping, that’s even better.
4. Be sure to have all the extras that came with your book, this gives your book higher value.
5. Compare payment plan: If you get paid via check, are there processing fees? What is the payment method that has the least additional fees?
“If you want the most for your money, the best way to go is eBay. They make it so easy to sell books there, all you have to do is put in the ISBN number, and it calls up all the pertinent information about the book. Then you describe the condition of the book and people will bid on it. I did this with all my unneeded books and easily made a couple hundred dollars,” shared Logan Radle
Selling your textbooks online is the quickest and easiest way to see high returns. Comparing buyback prices on various websites like Amazon, Chegg, and Half.com should help you determine the value of the book(s) you are interested in selling. Bigwords.com and other sites like it offer quick one stop shopping. The site presents an overview of what online retailers are willing to buyback your book(s), the price they are offering for the book(s), and what shipping will cost. It is important to remember to factor shipping costs into the overall price that a site offers to pay, as high shipping costs can eat into your return.
Heidi Young said, “I’ve sold books on Amazon. A plus about Amazon is that they let you keep your book listed for several months.”
Be sure to check as many sites as you can in order to be sure that you receive the best buyback price available. It is also a good idea to search for online coupons. Online coupons can make a noticeable difference in the price you receive for your book(s). Websites like ReatailMeNot.com offer a wide variety of coupons to choose from that will help you earn a larger return.

Before I begin this article, I want to thank the entire staff at The Snapper for making this semester my very best. I knew something was missing after I transferred to Millersville University, and it turned out to be this particular group of people.
From studying the Features section to find mistakes, simply because I knew Anne was a perfectionist (I found one, just one), to having my personal worth brought down a notch everyday by Brandon (love you too, man), it has been a semester to remember.
I believe in the seniors that will be leaving our office in two weeks, and I know that each and every one of them will find success outside of the bottom floor of the Student Memorial Center. I have only spent one semester with The Snapper, but I already feel like the staff is an extension of my own family.
This brings me to my overall point, which is the fact that I never would have learned how to embrace new people and work with them as a team without the college experience and the extracurricular activities that come with it.
The social class of the college educated have a leg up on the rest of society because of these experiences, but simply attending class and accepting that degree is not enough. It is essential for a student to join a club and participate in activities as a group.
Participating in extracurricular activities is the best way to provoke interaction with other students who may be interested in the same topics as you. It is also a far more rewarding experience than meeting all of your friends at parties, essentially relegating them to “drinking friends,” which never provide any type of true comfort or care.
Working for a student-run organization, like The Snapper, also provides a feeling of achievement each week, resulting from the completion of an article or page layout. There is no feeling quite like working on an article over the weekend, putting the paper together with the rest of the staff on Tuesday, then finally reading the edited articles in the completed paper on Wednesday. It is at that point that you know that you are contribut ing to, and becoming part of, that Millersville University community.
Speaking of the Millersville University community, it is one that we should be proud of. Most students work part-time jobs and go to class, but there is always free time to add a student- run organization into that schedule. In choosing this school, most of us have already admitted that we will be proud to graduate from here, so there is no reason that we shouldn’t give back to the university and show prospective students how lively our student-run organizations are.
To be brief: Join a studentrun organization, because without them college is nothing but a high school with dorms. It is beneficial for your social life and your resume, and it is something that any student could benefit from.
I would once again like to congratulate the seniors on our staff who will be graduating, and I will miss working with all of you (except Brandon, he’s one of my roommates). Have a great summer and good luck in all of your future endeavors.

With the ever expanding fruits of political correctness reaching out to nearly every facet of our contemporary society (or however political a society can be with the viewership of shows like ‘Teen Mom’ exceeding that of most normal television programming), certain subjects tend to be abandoned or swept under the rug with very little discussion at all.
One of these things is the controversial industry of pornography. Whether you feel comfortable acknowledging it or not, pornography is something that exists in our society and chances are, you probably at least know of a few people with more experience with it than you might expect or maybe you’ve even had one encounter with it sometime in your life.
Now, the average everyday person typically doesn’t have much use for pornography on a regular basis, myself included. But its noticeable and distinct lack of presence in everyday society, understandable though it may be, demonstrates how uncomfortable the subject tends to make people. While feeling uneasy towards the topic is perfectly warranted in all cases, sometimes it’s necessary to face something in order to get a more three-dimensional grasp of the subject.
More often than not, pornography is the type of thing that most people would prefer to leave alone and not bring it up under any circumstance, which is for the most part exactly how it’s always been and currently is today. But every so often, certain people or groups like to drag it out of the shadows and thrust it into the spotlight to expose just how “immoral” or “depraved” it really is, while under the assumption that those who choose to view it are in favor of having it integrated into the daily routines of everyday common people.
But the real truth of the matter is that pornography is not mandatory in the slightest, and most people would probably agree with that. It’s an extremely private habit and the only thing more private would be actually participating in real life what is depicted in most pornography.
One thing in the realm of dissent that’s often heard is the accusation that pornography is usually quite negative in regards towards its treatment and portrayal of women. Some would claim that its attitude is extremely derogatory towards them and/or tends to idealize them too much for the male viewers.
Keeping in mind that train of thought, this would mean that the only type of porn that exists is between a man and a woman, and furthermore, that would also imply that only men watch pornography. But you don’t even have to have ever seen a pornographic video to realize that both of these preconceptions are utterly false.
Without making reference to the infamous Internet Rule 34, let’s just say that there’s a healthy diversity of options out there to satisfy the curiosities of most individuals whom are at least modest in their expectations and momentary interests.
In conclusion, with a topic this private and so infrequently faced by the general public, it’s not hard to see why so many preconceptions exist that would make it seem more undesirable or even more sinister than it might really be. But the real truth of the matter is that pornography is really nothing more than a hobby to most people, and that a person’s individual use for it can and should be just that: left in the hands of the individual.
As with any other controversial subject out there, the resources are out there for those who are willing to learn more. And for those who wish to remain out of the loop, it’s just as easy for them as well.