College Papers Reflect on “Battlefield Christmas”

By Renee Sessions (UWIRE)

As temperatures drop and holiday decorations go up, another winter trend is sweeping college newspapers: the debate over season’s greetings dubbed the “War on Christmas.” While some writers lament the role political correctness plays in transforming traditional holiday salutations, others assert the war is a contrived controversy rooted in erroneous religious strong-arming.

Christmas attacked by the minority

Christmas heaved to accommodate beliefs of minority
Source | The Battalion
I understand that not everyone celebrates Christmas. But a majority of our country does. Minorities should have every right to celebrate in their own way, right alongside the majority. But the second a minority’s personal disagreement is given the power to completely erase the importance of a majority’s, we reach the highest level of injustice and discrimination possible. Read more.

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Political correctness hampers season’s spirit

‘Happy holidays’ has no relevance to this season
Source | The Battalion
No matter how many times I say “Merry Christmas” to the cashiers at national chain stores and anyone who will listen, they still insist on saying “Happy Holidays” back. Once upon a time, this vexed me. I thought people were attacking Christmas. I got over it when I realized corporate managers were just trying to appeal to more potential customers in an effort to make more money. That’s as American as apple pie. But wait. Is that OK? No, getting richer has nothing to do with this season. So what relevance does “happy holidays’” have to this season? Read more.

Political correctness withers holiday spirit for employees
Source | The Oracle
First, schools began discouraging teachers from saying “Merry Christmas,” “Happy Hannukah,” “Happy Kwanzaa” and the like, in favor of wishing students a vague — and arguably less offensive — “Happy holidays.” Then, some stopped putting up pictures of Santa or reindeer in favor of generic images of snowmen and snowflakes to celebrate the season instead of singling out a specific holiday. In the interest of making all students feel accepted in their classrooms, these moves made sense. However, the quest for holiday-season political correctness has been taken to an unhealthy extreme. Read more.

Political correctness ruins holiday season
Source | The Maine Campus
As we move closer to finals week and colder weather, we are also getting closer to the Christmas season. That’s right, I said Christmas, not the “holiday” season. I’m tired of this walking on eggshells and skating on thin ice in the politically correct society that we live in. Americans are so afraid to say anything offensive that we constantly censor and edit ourselves to the point where we are not allowed to mention Christmas or anything related to that because — heaven forbid — someone might be offended. Read more

Holiday well wishes should be taken as acts of kindness
Source | Iowa State Daily
The “holiday season” only exists because of Christmas, yet you can’t mention Christmas in public. It is why we go on winter break, put up a holiday tree and shop in the holiday section at Wal-Mart. But for some strange reason, it has even become unacceptable to tell someone to have a Merry Christmas because they might be offended if they’re not a Christian. That’s right. Some people are offended if you wish them a nice day, if that day happens to be a religious holiday. Has political correctness really seeped so far into American culture that you even have to be careful when telling someone to have a good day? Read more.

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‘War on Christmas’ an imagined conflict

‘War on Christmas’ drivel smacks of xenophobia
Source | Rocky Mountain Collegian
Continuing America’s proud tradition of misplaced outrage, the War on Christmas is entering yet another year of heated non-troversy. With the Catholic League and the American Family Association threatening another round of boycotts against another set of retail giants, one can’t help but admire these righteous crusaders for sending the Christian persecution complex spiraling into heretofore unimagined levels of absurdity. For it takes a special kind of mind to see a plot to destroy Christianity in something as seemingly clumsy as a corporate bid for inclusivity. Read more.

‘War on Christmas’ imagined by delusional Christians
Source | The Daily Athenaeum
Lay down your arms, countrymen, and abandon the war on terror, the war on drugs, the war on poverty and the war on wars: It is time to fight with each other about what to call a holiday. Those who lament the “war on Christmas” – by which they mean salespeople who say “Happy Holidays” and various other ways in which society might be taking Christ out of Christmas – are suffering from a grand delusion. Read more.

Force all heathens to celebrate Christmas
Source | The Pitt News
I have recently come to realize that there is a war being waged on this holiest of holidays. Many call it the “war on Christmas.” I have a couple of names for it myself: Operation Missile Toe; The Bombing of EggNogasaki; Christmas Tree-son; Myrrhdur; Frankinsanity. It is quite clear. The only way to spread Christmas cheer is to force everyone else in the country to celebrate exactly the same way I do. Read more.

‘War on Christmas’ contradicts Christian message
Source | Daily Nebraskan
The celebration of Christmas as defined by Christianity subverts the methodology used by so many Christian talking heads as they wage their war for the right to say “Merry Christmas.” As if God cares what linguistic symbols we link together to express excitement for the Advent season. Unlike so many other religious icons and divine beings worshipped the world over, the Christian God identifies with the lowly and oppressed. But the blustery Bill O’Reilly and his culture warriors would have us think that the Christian faith is about power from above, power from a position of superiority.

This story was originally published by UWIRE

UCLA’s Daily Bruin first student paper to back Obama for prez

By Steve Veres (UWIRE)

UCLA’s student paper became the first to endorse Sen. Barack Obama for president, touting on Tuesday he would be a capable leader who could effectively lead the nation through the economic crisis.”Really, was there any other rational choice?” the Daily Bruin editorial board wrote, noting that John McCain wouldn’t change the direction of the country from the “ill effects of the Bush administration.”

“It would be one thing to support the John McCain of the past, but his present performance has defeated whatever confidence this board once had in his abilities as a leader,” the Daily Bruin editorial board wrote.

The editorial board also slammed Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as lacking the “character” and “integrity” needed to serve as vice president.

“The last thing we need is a maverick like Gov. Palin swapping hockey-mom tales with foreign leaders,” the students wrote.

The editorial board did note Obama’s inexperience, but wrote he could learn quickly.

“What America needs now is a leader who is willing to make sacrifices and to accept responsibility for tough decisions in order to save our economy,” they wrote.

Obama garnered more than 90 percent of the 55 college papers that endorsed for the Democratic primaries, according to UWIRE’s count. McCain similarly won more than 88 percent of college papers’ endorsements in the Republican primary, though students at several schools noted their backings didn’t constitute they supported his policies.