The Graphic

Perspectives A10 FEBRUARY 24, 2005 ГПСЖМ PhOPOSflLS DANIEL JOHNSON Art Editor Not going anywhere for break? Try a prank Where are you going for Spring Break? Skiing, sunning, drinking? Yeah, me neither. Do you feel hitter at all of your friends for visiting exotic places without you? Well, here’s the perfect solution — a Spring Break prank. If you are bitter like me, there is no better mode of good-hearted retribution than a little practical joke. Pranks are one of the best ways for relieving stress. They are actually doc¬ tor-recommended for relieving anxiety. The key is to make your friends feel annoyed and loved at the same time. So now let me guide you through the won¬ derful world of mischievous mayhem. 1 ) Tlie novice. You can always TP something (TP: verb, (from the Egyptian toiletus papyrus: To decorate another’s possession(s) with toilet paper). How to: If you don’t know how to effectively TP someone you should embrace your naivete and try some¬ thing easy — saran wrap the toilet, prop a water-filled trashcan against their door or sell their name to a tele¬ marketer. These are all too cliche to make a true impact these days unless you really put some effort into the job. The problem with TP-ing and other over used pranks is that they are over used. Creativity is key. Pro: Easy. Con: Unoriginal. Money: $-$$$ Toilet paper is surprisingly costly when you are pur¬ chasing 300 rolls, and if you had money you would be skiing in Aspen, not plot¬ ting pranks. So, remember when you are constructing this to think thrifty. 2) The Infiltration. 1 have on one occasion released several thousand crickets into someone’s room. Another variation has been filling a room with crumpled newspapers or filling a car full of popcorn. How to: Feeder crickets can be purchased at any pet store and can also be bought in bulk. Newspapers can be acquired at recycling facilities (just bring them back for the sake of the trees). Movie theaters trash bags frill of popcorn every night. Most managers will be glad to put the bags next to the dumpster for pickup if you convince them that it is for a noble cause. Pro: Every cricket you hear for months will make you smile. Con: Opening up your Monopoly game years later with your friend and finding 20 cricket carcasses. Money: $-$$$$ depending on what you fill the room with. 3) Tire Switcheroo. This involves subtly changing someone else’s room. How to: Tit is can take many forms. I tcxik everything that my friend owned and turned it backwards or inside out. I made the bed with the box spring on top of the mattress and turned every item of clothing inside out and hung them back on hangars. An ingenious variation of this prank was played last year when someone’s bed appeared in perfect condition in the cafeteria. Pro: A lot of work for a seemingly subtle dif¬ ference is both rewarding and stylish. Con: You are usually the first to be asked to help move everything back. Money: $. With pranks, as in most other mis¬ demeanors, there are distinct lines of appropriateness that need to be respected. I stress that these pranks be played on friends in order to build a healthy, playful relationship. This means that the damage should be annoying rather than destructive. For example, do not egg their cars, key their doors or replace their license plates with that of a known criminal. Next suggestion, stay away from things that they love. Don’t take their cherished stuffed animal, or fill their prized guitar with flour, or, in my case, don't breathe on my computer. Remember the key to a good prank is creativity and attention to details. So take the basics and pull .something momentous. If you happen to take part in any earth-shattering pranks tell me about it - my roommates are going out of town, and I’m running out of ideas ... No seriously: Daniel .S.J ohns<m@Pep[>erdine . edu . M ad At The Wo mS t - ■ У ^ «-rOy Freedom Wall МЛН CDITOML Post constructive comments We at the Graphic firmly believe in freedom of speech. Think for a sec¬ ond what the press would be without the freedom of speech that we so richly enjoy in this country. Think what the press would he if it had to undergo strict government censure before every' printing. Think what the press would he if there was some¬ one telling us at every twist and turn what we could and could not print, regardless of its factual validity but based solely on the fact that a gov¬ erning body could. To say the very least, this is bad press. And so we value freedom of speech, and in turn we very much value fomms in which people can speak their minds and share their opinions directly and without the fear of censure. If we did not value these things, what would we he hut hyp¬ ocrites of the highest order? Theoretically, the Freedom Wall here at Pepperdine was created for the very thing that we journalists hold so dear to our hearts — the free¬ dom of expression, regardless of the message and the medium. Put more simply, the Freedom Wall is the one forum here at Pepperdine that allows us to publicly use our right to free¬ dom of speech: this is a good thing. On any given day, one can find flyers urging more cultural awareness, aid relief in the Third World and even funny quips and one-liners aimed at our country’s fine leaders. Again, this is a good thing. But more often than not, the Freedom Wall is not used for such good intentions. For all the positive “We appreciate our right to say what we want, but we pay attention to the constructiveness of our comments — and this is what we want for the Freedom Wall as well.” things that are said and posted on the Freedom Wall, there are many more crude, rude and ignorant things post¬ ed. These are the kinds of things that give people the ammunition to fight against freedom of speech. More often than not, instead of thought- provoking, community-building and challenging words being posted on the Freedom Wall, what stands out the most are the crass and vulgar words sprawled in plain view. During the fall election this was almost always the case: someone would post reasons to vote for one candidate over the other, and within hours those things would turn into a nasty contest to see which candidate could be slammed harder. A simple “Vote (insert particular political can¬ didate here)” sign would suddenly display the wonderful tag “your can¬ didate is a (insert profanity here)” that would then be followed by the similar, “No, well your candidate is a dirty, scum-sucking ...” and so on. How is this in any way construc¬ tive, positive or helpful? It is not rhat free speech always has to he pos¬ itive or helpful — the reality is far from that. But at the same time, in a public forum dedicated to protecting our right to express to ourselves, these types of posts and words do nothing but harm. Of course, we firmly believe that everyone has the right to say what they want — rhat is the essence of the freedom of speech that we love so much in this country. But we also watch our words closely — theoreti¬ cally, we can say whatever we want, but we do not. We appreciate our right to say what we want, hut we pay attention to the constructiveness of our com¬ ments — and this is what we want for the Freedom Wall as well. The Freedom Wall can be a great thing. It can be a place where people can really be comfortable to express who they are and their beliefs. It can be a place to start a revolution or maybe even a place to post a “date for Friday night wanted” advertise¬ ment. Either way, the Freedom Wall can he a useful, beneficial part of the community. Nobody is going to sir and watch as people come by and write and post on the Freedom Wall, then censor it when they are gone we hope. But to get the most out of the Freedom Wall — to use it for what it is really there for — we need to be willing to be mature and positive in our com¬ ments. We need to be willing to dis¬ agree without bashing those who hold beliefs that are different from our own. We need to be willing to show grace and maturity. The freedom to speak is a great and beautiful thing . We should be mature enough to know how to use that right without abusing it. GRAPHI( Editor in Chief Joann Groff Associate Editor Sarah Pye News Editor Crystal Luong Assistant News Editor Audrey Reed News Assistant Meredith Rodriguez Sports Editor Garrett Wait Assistant Sports Editor Noah Godwin Perspectives Editor Melissa Overbeck Assistant Perspectives Editor Chris Segal Perspectives Assistant Scott Withycombe Living Editor Katie Clary Assistant Living Editor Tracy Domingo A&E Editor Evelyn Barge Assistant A&E Editor James Riswick A&E Assistant David Tesic Photo Editor Ben Young Assistant Photo Editor Graham Shea Photo Assistant Anela Hoick Art Editor Daniel Johnson Assistant Art Editor Lisa Cumbie Online Graphic Editor Hood Whitson Assistant Online Graphic Editor Denise Hess Advertising Director Paris Dennard Classifieds Manager Katrina Bekessy Advertising Sales Managers John Jorden Assistant Director of Journalism Elizabeth R. Smith Adviser Dr. Michael Murrie The Graphic is published weekly on Thursdays by Pepperdine University Student Publications. Unsigned editorials refect the majority view of the editorial staff. The Graphic welcomes your views on issues of interest to the community. Letters must bear the writer’s name, signature, dass standing, major, address and phone number. Letters must be less than 300 words and may be edited for style or brevity CONTACT US Graphic Pepperdine University 24255 Pacifc Coast Hwy. Malibu, CA 90263 (310) 506-4311 GRAPHIC@PEPPERDINE.EDU OR GRAPHICADVERTISING@ PEPPERDINE.EDU Graphic News and Views Our staff's take on some of the week's top stories, news makers and whatever else we feel like sharing. My friends and I have an origin» debut about tire name cf the inflatable things small chikiim play m at parties. Everyhxly I knew growing up called them “bounce houses,” hit my friends had never head cf that lux! call them “astro jumps.” Sd tat of all die people we’ve asked, its been pretty much Garret Wait split 50-50, so see me, и те know which one it really is. Audrey Reed Hackets are not our friends. They have me undo stress and aac ouple grand for a new computer. However, when hackers rapped intoT-Mobile to rake Paris Hiiltm’s phone list, they redeemed themselves. Spending an hour prank calling A-list celebs, Ls quite a dirill. Not com¬ plete redempt ion for the hacker community, hit it Ls a start. Joann Groff So, Tuesday night I slept at Pepperdine. Yes, 1 was stranded on campus after the storms closed every possible iukJ biding to my home on the oilier side. Tliank C Jod dial my wonderful advisers g 4 me a room at the hotel on tlx- hill (still жил ). Sources at Housing ;uxl at Public Safety confirmed that dierc was no emergency plan — diat’s ridicukius. Where did everyone sleep? James Riswick In Gdifomia they build struc¬ tures diat can wistand earth¬ quakes, however, it seems like keeping water out Ls an unsur- nx writable problem. Wliether it’s my Stinkies apartment, the thiee-year-oldGCB or even apparantly Jay Leno’s multi-mil- lion -dollar mansim, water man¬ ages to seep in like it would in a thatch-rexf shack in Sri Lanka. Meussa Overbeck Bush spent the last few days travel¬ ling around Europe trying to mend tlie relationships with traditional American allies that had begun to crumble following die Iraq war. His speeches were amazing tributes to multilateralism-a wonderful change from the past year and a half of unilateralist rhetoric. Finally, an effort to work with the world community. 1 couldnt be more pleasantly surprised. 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