The Student Who Must Not Be Named

grading papers stinks. there's no two ways about it. however, occasionally there are viewpoints expressed that serve to amuse me to no end. for instance, the boy who wrote a paper promoting the legalization of prostitution ending with the question, "after all, everyone likes sex, so what's not to like about prostitutes?"

this semester, i have shared about a student who expressed the opinion that transgender surgeries will wipe out the human race. for her research paper, this same student chose to write about abortion. other than the fact that abortion is an overwritten, cliched topic, i don't mind opposing opinions as long as they are well thought out. it is not a hot button for me. but this one... let me share.

first, she discusses abortion in the case of rape. she knows "lots" of people who have been raped and kept their babies and are doing fine. thus, she says, women who are raped and have abortions are "selfish and lazy."

next, date rape. according to her, women should be more careful about who they go out with and not be alone with a guy if they aren't sure about him. okay, fair enough, but certainly not all-encompassing. furthermore, she says, they were probably scantily clad, and were thus "asking for it." no joke. she said, "asking for it." and then, what are women doing walking alone? and if they must walk alone, have they never heard of mace?? yes ladies, if you are assaulted and raped, it is your fault for not carrying mace or getting to it fast enough.

i was gentle in conference. i told her if her purpose was to convince people on the fence, she might want to tone down the angry, judgmental rhetoric.

i then told her to go stroll down a dark alley.