NewsBusters (Bozell's Group) tries to smear S.R. Sidarth

[ck4829]

And fails, and they probably think their readers are idiots too.

"Such a poor victim, this S. R. Sidarth, who apparently has no problem painting VA Senator Allen as cruel. So, I wonder where was this new found sensitivity of Sidarth's when he began this discussion thread on a UVA posting board by making fun of an Hispanic William and Mary student's death?

Senior Alex Reyno died Tuesday after jumping into the Crim Dell as he was leading a tour for the Office of Admissions. It was Reyno's last tour, and he apparently jumped into the water to celebrate the event.

"He'd told people that he was going to jump in the water, and he did," Vice President for Student Affairs Sam Sadler said. "It was his last tour, and he was going to do something different that would be memorable ... Regrettably, it took his life."

http://newsbusters.org/node/7175
http://www.autoadmit.com/thread.php?thread_id=388541&mc=22&forum_id=1#5443352

Can you find where in the thread Sidarth makes fun of Reyno's death? Because I can't.

[BOSSHOG]

1. Bozo's group - what a bastion of integrity

Their readers are idiots and they know it; making their job so easy.

Siddarth standing at an allen rally saying nothing, just doing his job, is dumped on by a racist "conservative" representative of the republican party and automatically becomes a "target" of right wing ignorance and hate. This will play over and over and over again, because of the incredible ignorance of people who think they are patriotic "conservatives" in this country.

[Igel]

2. I don't understand the thread at all.

There's a heck of a lot not said. This discourse is about something that's not stated explicitly. I think the dead student is beside the point.

First post is a bare article. No comment. Yet ...

The second post starts with 'give him a break' ... it views the first post as some sort of a put down. Possibly it does so improperly. Sidarth doesn't respond. Perhaps he was busy.

Third post starts with condemning the first two. The third student also saw Sidarth as participating in feeling superior. Makes it sound like a Darwin Awards kind of thing: We're better, we got into this school; he got into that school, so of course he's so stupid he'll jump into shallow water ... shallow end of the gene pool, after all.

Fourth post, the person behind post #2 asks 'what points?' In post 5 poster 3 makes it explicit: w&m is inferior. In post 6, poster 2 and 4 justifies it: somehow athletics makes the point.

I not 100% sure what to make of it. It sounds like part of a conversation. My assumption is that the relative merit of the two schools was part of the discussion--sounds like a lot of school-based dick-wagging takes place, routine stuff, to be honest. Runner up: Some board participants had been disputing relative personal merits, and somehow this school showed up, and this shows that going to that school isn't a badge of honor. In any event, this is just part of the conversation.

Shows a lack of sensitivity; but I've not noticed that sensitivity is a necessary component of undergrad discourse when dick-wagging is taking place. I don't find it to be all that egregious; it's mostly mocking the school.

Then again, the insensitivity that I think is implied results from a kind of partisanship. And Virginia politics is nothing if not partisan.