The Independent Student Newspaper of Northern Kentucky University.

The Northerner

The Independent Student Newspaper of Northern Kentucky University.

The Northerner

The Independent Student Newspaper of Northern Kentucky University.

The Northerner

new flat screen televisions

I am writing to the Northerner concerning the new flat screen tvs that have been placed all over campus. I realize that academic integrity doesn’t mean much to an administration willing to sacrifice consumer choice in return for a fistfull of cash and free advertisements on select bottles of Pepsi products (when’s the last time we’ve seen Harvard advertising on bottles of Mt. Dew?), but placing a television which broadcasts repeating commercial loops in the library of all places is really just too much. I find it offensive and almost obscene that the administration can so blatantly reduce students to potential dollar signs. I do realize, though, that once NKU gets its hands on some money there is pretty much no way it will ever give it up again. Putting these electronic advertisement devices where students congregate is only going to further alienate and isolate students by encouraging them to focus not on each other but on the flashing images on the wall. But as long as these television remain cash cows, I gave no hope that they will be removed anytime soon. But to promote at least some small semblance of respect and reverence for higher education could we at least have these things removed from the library, and offer at least one human-focused place for congregation and study? Thank you.