The Effect of an Apology

In the case of Don Imus, there were several apologies actually made.  Immediately following the comments, Imus made an apology on his radio show (see YouTube video below). 

In reality, this apology probably hurt Imus because it was so short and seemed relatively unplanned.  The apology took all of twenty seconds and Imus made the mistake of saying “we can understand why people were offended” which can make it seem like people who were offended are actually at fault.  The tone of this apology does seem sincere; however, Imus’s behavior following the incident does not back up this sincerity.  Later, Imus appeared on various shows including ones hosted by Jesse Jackson and Al Sharpton in order to seek forgiveness.  In all, these apologies were directed at the wrong audience.  Imus wronged the women of the Rutgers basketball team first and female African Americans second.  He should have apologized in that order, rather than appealing to the masses first.  A personal apology is far more likely to be accepted than a large-scale one.  Thus, his widespread approach further hurt his odds of being forgiven.   Finally, Imus made an apology to the Rutgers team at the NJ governor’s mansion.  Although there are no records of this event because it was closed to the media, the two hour plus meeting was by far Imus’s most successful apology.  For once, he subjected himself to answering questions rather than having the upper hand that he is used to.  In the end, this apology was sufficient enough for the women to accept the apology and move on.

Overall, Imus definitely needed to apologize.  The order of his apologies and the way he went about the initial days after his comments were not effective for being forgiven, though.  Imus should have appealed on the personal level first and then dealt with the rest of the population that may have indirectly been affected by what he said.  Most of all, Imus’s recent actions show that he is resorting to his old ways and that his apologies were not sincere and therefore not effective.       

The Don Imus Debacle

After the 2007 NCAA Women’s Basketball Tournament Championship Game between the Rutgers’ Lady Knights of Rutgers University and the Lady Vols of the University of Tennessee, Don Imus, the host of the MSNBC radio show Imus in the Morning at the time, made various racially-driven comments about the players from the Rutgers team. Imus and his executive producer Bernard McGuirk talked about the appearance of the “rough,” “tattoo[ed]” girls from Rutgers compared to the “cute” girls from Tennessee. The pair went on to refer to the Lady Knights as “nappy headed hoes” and “Jigaboos,” referencing the Spike Lee film School Daze.

There was an immediate backlash from fellow members of the media, political figures, and the nation as a whole. Imus issued a series of apologies, some on the air and others in more personal settings, however he was still fired from his position by the CEO of CBS Radio Leslie Moonves.

Living in New Jersey at the time, this issue was extremely prevalent across the NY/NJ media. I was a direct witness to both sides of the story as well as much of the aftermath the insensitive comments created. Indirectly, the Imus debacle also threatened the life of the NJ governor Jon Corzine, who got into a serious car accident on his way to Imus’ formal apology to the Rutgers team and the governor’s mansion.

Not everyone was against Imus , though. Fellow “shock-jocks” Gregg “Opie” Hughes and Anthony Cumia, better known as Opie and Anthony, were outraged that “a radio pioneer and philanthropist” was fired from his job over something that they did not even consider that edgy. This led to the creation of People Against Censorship, a group devoted to defending freedom of speech.

I definitely think that the Rutgers Lady Knights deserved an apology, but Imus’s various apologies were not too convincing, especially after he has continued to make racial remarks on the airwaves.

Viterbi Students: Critical Thinkers or Human Calculators?

When most people consider engineers, they immediately picture some geeky person sitting by themselves and crunching numbers all day.  In reality, an engineer does a lot more than crunch numbers.  (the geeky isolated part might be correct…)  At the USC Viterbi School of Engineering, there is an emphasis on critical thinking from day one.  Some of the very first engineering classes aim to teach students the importance of going beyond the formulas and numbers.  This includes various design competitions, where the process of synthesis is focused upon, tests and homework based around real-life problem solving skills, where the process of application is developed, and computer programming courses, to ensure students are able to fully utilize the technology available to them for complete and accurate analysis of engineering projects.    It is more than apparent that the Viterbi curriculum is oriented to transform number-savvy kids into full-fledged, critically thinking members of the engineering community.   

Throughout my early engineering career at USC, I am more than pleased with the amount of critical thinking in the curriculum.  I am constantly being challenged academically and I feel that I have learned a lot in a relatively short period of time.  Viterbi’s curriculum definitely has my seal of approval.

A Path to Salvation?

In his article A German Lesson: the Fallacy of One True Path, Daniel Goldhagen brings Pope Benedict XVI’s ability to critically reflect on his past into question.  Benedict himself was a small boy during the Nazi reign in Germany and, as Goldhagen mentions, at one point joined the Hitler youth.  It is obvious that Pope Benedict had a first-hand view of what hate and intolerance can do to people and, moreover, the entire world as a whole.  This is why Goldhagen questions Pope Benedict’s stance that Catholicism is the only true path to salvation.  Goldhagen argues that Pope Benedict should not denounce other religions and that his “ecclesiastical totalitarianism” is far too similar to the Aryan race that Hitler promoted.  As Goldhagen refutes in his closing lines, Pope Benedict is likely to argue that “his truth is the Truth,” however, this idea is what has driven many of the most despicable and horrid political regimes throughout history.

Personally, I think Goldhagen’s article is intended to drive home his point using a fairly shocking analogy.  Any comparison to Hitler or the Nazi rule will immediately grab the attention of the reader.  I do, however, also believe that Goldhagen’s argument has some merit.  He is by no means comparing Benedict himself to Hitler or trying to present Benedict as a bad person.  He is simply questioning Benedict’s views from an academic standpoint.  Why did Benedict not use his personal experiences and involvement in one of the most horrific periods in recorded history to change the way the world thinks?  Maybe there is no single path to salvation…

Have it your way!

My entire perception of the alarm clock itself has changed quite a bit during the writing process.  The bottom line is that the alarm clock is a very personal thing.  Every individual has their own routine in the morning which is started by waking up to their alarm clock.  Some people need to lay in bed for a half hour before facing the world, while others are able to hop out of bed pumped up and ready for another day.  Because of this vast difference in users’ needs, I have decided to make my new and improved alarm clock completely customizable. The personalization factor will be included in every single aspect of my alarm clock from face plates and blinking LED lights to a vibrating bracelet synchronized with whatever type of sound/music the user decides upon.  The alarm clock is a very important machine in anybody’s life.  How you wake up usually has a great impact on how you approach each and every day.  My ultimate goal is to allow owners of my alarm clock to create a personalized and comfortable environment to wake up into, so their mornings are as stress-free as possible.  I’m confident that a better alarm clock will improve many people’s lives and be a successful product for many years to come. 

Innovators Snoozing on Alarm Clocks?

As anyone at USC can attest to, the use of an alarm clock is a vital part of the everyday life of the student.  But what happens when the alarm clock malfunctions or, even more commonly, simply fails to serve its purpose as its owner simply sleeps through the buzzing?  These are the main problems I intend to fix during my complete rethinking of the alarm clock.  Far too many times the batteries in my alarm ran out during the middle of the night leaving me subject to my internal clock- a system that is unfortunately not very reliable.  The breaking point was during finals last semester when my alarm clock decided not to work on the morning of one of my exams.  Thanks to a good roommate I was able to run to GFS and manage to get to the test on time, but what if my roomie didn’t wake me that morning?  The alarm clock is one of the simplest machines out there, but I intend to implement various aspects of modern-day technology to make alarm clocks sought after by the everyday person and gadget lovers alike.  This is one instance where I’m trying to fall asleep on the competition- without worrying about getting back up, that is.