Mugabe’s Temper Leaves 10 Dead?!

Robert Mugabe, former president of Zimbabwe, has thrown enough hissy-fits that I might as well call him a girl. Maybe if I invited him over and we painted each other’s toenails or curled each other’s hair he might calm down for a second.

He and his Zanu-PF party have dominated Zimbabwean politics since their independence from British rule in 1980. But with a new election finished and the results tallied and painfully clear, Mugabe is clinging to his power seat for dear life. Morgan Tsvangirai, Movement for Democratic Change opposition leader, has been adamant that he won the election fair and square, that the numbers don’t lie and that Mugabe called a recount because he is a sore loser. So, it went to court.

Ruffled feathers and flustered political leaders aside, Zimbabweans are still scuffling over the issue. The Associated Press reported that 10 people were killed and 3,000 families have been forced from their homes since the election due to violence and hospitalization for their injuries.

According to exit poll results, Mugabe lost by 60 percent. But nobody is supposed to know that, or they might end up with an angry Mugabe under their bed. Not kidding, he knows everything that goes on within his borders.

But there is more at stake here than Zimbabweans and their well being. The idea of democracy in Africa is hanging by a thread. There is the possibility for an upsurge of unrest within this crisis, and one man is holding all the strings.

Mugabe, you are not the next Julius Caesar. How many people have to die before you realize your selfishness is out of control?

Journalism at the end of its road?

Ohio State is closing its Journalism Library. Circulation of its school newspaper is going to be halted for the summer quarter. I just found out the program isn’t an accredited one.

To be honest, instead of being angry with the University or plain pissed off, I’m depressed. I’ve taken the liberty of emailing all the heads of OSU’s Communications Program, but they kept passing me up the line to someone else that “might” be able to answer my question. Eventually I got my answer in an email: “Ohio State’s Journalism Program has remained unaccredited for the past 10 years. However, Ohio State is an accredited University. The Journalism Program is taking a step in the digital direction and focus is being redirected…”

I couldn’t read anymore. Tears were blurring my vision. I don’t think I’ve ever felt so defeated in all my life.

To be honest, I’ve always wanted to be a writer. A speaker that came to Ohio State said famously, (I quote this from a friend who actually went to see him) “if you want to be a writer, a novelist, as I’m sure most of you do… then get a job as a waiter and write on your spare time. Let the journalists be journalists. This isn’t for you.”

Maybe it took me too long to make a decision. Journalism is fun and innovative to a fault, but with Ohio State slowly shoving it in the closet and burying it within its Communications Program, it seems to be only another sign of the inevitable death of journalism as an art form. Unfortunately, Google is too cheap to hire any actual journalists of their own and until the BBC or AP stop wiring news to them, there is still as silver lining of hope. I always thought journalism was about reporting the news with fairness and equality. Then the real world came along and rained on my parade. If it isn’t about business and money making, than it must be useless.