Ah, winter break. ‘Tis the season for a surreal and possibly awkward return home, presents and food. And, for those of us who followed the news over break, it was time for the annual debate over whether it’s more appropriate to say “Merry Christmas” or “Happy Holidays” to celebrate the festive season.

For those of you who haven’t heard the advocacy groups and pundits railing on about it in recent years, one side argues that the holiday season is so prevalent because of Christmas and should be labeled as such (even though these are the same people who generally despise the commercialization of Christmas and should be glad that department stores have decided to go for the “Happy Holidays” approach).

The other side, meanwhile, insists that “Happy Holidays” is more politically correct, because it accounts for those who celebrate Hannukah or Kwanzaa, as if telling someone who isn’t Christian “Merry Christmas” is a demonstration of disrespect or
bigotry.

The point of this little rant, I should add, is to show how ridiculous things can get if we allow ourselves to lose focus. And with all the controversy that erupted last semester, most of which is far more important than whether Santa’s fat, jolly face is politically correct or not, this lesson is as important
as ever.

So who’s down for a little recap?
First we had all the buzz surrounding
alcohol.

With the university receiving a $300,000 grant to combat underage drinking and the police simultaneously orchestrating several large house party busts at the beginning of the semester, many students came to the conclusion that the university and the city had jointly declared war on their drinking habits. Officials from both the university and the city denied any connection between the grant and the house party busts, though they did say that working in conjunction with one another is an important part of addressing underage drinking.

Concerns about underage drinking continued to arise through Homecoming weekend. Both city and university officials later said the weekend went smoothly, with little if any contention between students and authorities and citation numbers remaining comparable to the previous year.

The real contention surrounding alcohol on Homecoming weekend didn’t involve students but, ironically, a city council member. That very weekend, State Troopers arrested Toby Biegel for driving while intoxicated, third offense, in Chippewa County. It took two troopers and the use of pepper spray to remove Biegel from the vehicle – a series of events later explained by his .24 blood alcohol level.

Then controversy broke out in early November over the university forbidding senior RA Lance Steiger from holding Bible studies in his room or residence hall.

The Foundation for Individual Rights in Education led the charge, painting the university as a despotic entity bent on depriving students of their constitutional right to freely practice their religion. Eau Claire and UW System spokesmen, meanwhile, said the unwritten policy was originally intended to ensure RAs remained approachable to all students and has always applied to political, religious and sales-related events.

Amid a firestorm of criticism, Interim Chancellor Vicki Lord Larson suspended the policy, pending a review of the policy by a committee. Even as this decision was announced, Steiger filed a federal lawsuit, and state legislators organized hearings at the Capitol.

Whatever one thought of the policy itself, it was pretty difficult to hear what students (the people the policy affected) had to say with all the politicians, lawyers and activists making the issue their great crusade.

And then, when it seemed like the campus news scene couldn’t get any crazier, another controversy surfaced, this time involving girls in swimsuits. Students in Free Enterprise created a swimsuit calendar to raise money for cancer research but ended up generating a lot more than money.

The buzz surrounding the calendar and whether it promoted the objectification of women in our society even prompted the Women’s and Gender Equity Center, college feminists and women’s studies department to organize a forum discussion on
the matter.

OK, deep breath.

Unlike the Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays debate, all of these controversies highlighted legitimate concerns. And with each controversy, there were people who engaged in healthy discussion and those who enflamed the situation. I’m sure we’ll have more of each with debates both old and new this semester, but if we can, let’s try to keep our discussions intelligent and our arguments beneficial. Happy Christmahannukwanza everybody.