Talk:Townies
A couple concerns
The way this page is written bothers me, but I'm not sure how to fix it, honestly. I think what bothers me most is that it's an inaccurate portrayal of Galesburg residents. In my four years at Knox, I met a lot of very nice "townies" who don't harass people or catcall as they drive down South Street. I understand that people have had bad experiences with "townies," but let's be fair - lots of Knox students don't leave campus enough to generalize about them. And it's hardly fair to let a catcall or two influence your perception of an entire town's population.
The other problem I have here is when the page talks about observing "towny culture for projects and assignments." This makes Galesburg residents sound like animals in a zoo that are only there for our own observation and amusement. This could not be further from the truth. These are people, folks. They should be treated as such - both in person and on the WikiFire.
But as I said, I'm not sure how to rework this page to make it better. So I'm looking for suggestions. Do we just delete the parts about bad experiences? That was my gut reaction, but I think it's a bad idea. People HAVE been harassed and catcalled by "townies" and some people are, in fact, afraid of Galesburg's population at large. So I'm inclined to think it's an important part of the story here. But there's another side to it, as well. Here's the question: How do we get it out there?
Bill M. 13:32, 9 June 2007 (CDT)
I think the part about observing "towny culture for projects and assignments" could be re-written as "AnSo students are frequently recieve assignments requiring them to participant-observe in some setting and many elect to conduct this fieldwork within the Galesburg community, observing in settings including the Broadview, Galesburg Adult Bookstore, and Cornucopia." I don't think the phrase "towny culture" should be used, as it doesn't seem accurate to suggest that there is one, homogenous Galesburg culture.
As for the catcalling, I think it could be deleted. People are catcalled in Galesburg, Chicago, Kansas, etc. It is not unique to Galesburg residents. Or it could be re-written to note that "as with any other city, women are sometimes verbally harassed in Galesburg."
