*For context: Read this extremely uninformed open letter written by Steve Benko.
Dear Steve Benko,
Holy shit, your evidence is bad. Please stop.
End of letter.
We are so sorry that the Odyssey Online has affected you and your life in such a negative way. Oh wait, no. We’re not.
Sometimes when we scroll through Facebook and see articles from the Odyssey, we consider opening them because we know that from reading these articles, we will see what different perspectives we can learn about today based on the interests of our peers. Because sorry, Mr. Benko, but to your dismay, we are not a bunch of “privileged, white, #MakeAmericaGreatAgain people writing about how it sucks to be white”...because we’re not all privileged, white, #MakeAmericaGreatAgain people. Anyone from any background can apply to write for the Odyssey. As we will explain further, our national staff is so large it would be simply foolish for you to assume that we all fall under that category. As writers for Odyssey, we don’t even know what it’s like to fit in that very narrow category because our staff is so diverse. Frankly, we’re not entirely sure how you managed to generalize those characteristics to a large population of people who come from very diverse backgrounds.
For those who don’t know what The Odyssey Online is, we are here to actually tell you, since it seems as though our friend Mr. Benko was a bit mistaken. We know you’ve most likely heard of it, especially since this platform is becoming extremely relevant for millenials who are active on social media. The Odyssey is a social content platform.This means that the writers create content based on their personal interests and ideas and cater their work towards specific audiences, with the goal of generating the most "shares" on social media. After all, this publication is geared towards millennials. You’ve probably scrolled through Facebook and seen articles shared by your peers about an array of topics that may spark your interest, such as, but definitely not limited to: feminism, break-ups, college life, road trips, festivals, science, politics… need we go on?
However, Mr. Benko - can we call you Steve? We're going to call you Steve - You decided to lump the entire platform into four articles, and you merely suggested the first two, and only examined the other two, them being: “I Am a College Student Who is Against Free Tuition: Why Paying For College Isn’t a Burden,” and “Why White Privilege is as Racist as it Sounds: Heads Up I’m White and Do Not Consider Myself Privileged.” While those articles may not be ones you agree with, you cannot belittle an entire community because of your disagreement with the TWO Odyssey articles that made their way to your Facebook timeline.
Those two articles do not represent the entirety of the Odyssey community because it is so much more diverse than those topics. Did you know that just at the University of Maryland branch of Odyssey, we publish between 30-35 articles per week? You chose two articles to base your opinion on an entire website off of. Two. As of 2014, Odyssey was present at 37 universities, and it has drastically grown since then. There are plenty more articles that exist that you might like... or not like; and that’s the beauty of Odyssey.
In your article you said that you “love that people of all backgrounds can share their opinions and experiences on subjects, The Odyssey does the exact opposite.” You went on to argue that one author’s claim of how the “US is now respected as a soccer country” was sufficient evidence for this. You disagreed with this statement. Interestingly enough, so did the writer. In the same sentence that you quoted.
Let us refresh your memory: The quote stated, “The U.S. is now respected as a soccer country, that should never be the case.” The writer and you both disagree that the U.S. should be respected as a “soccer country,” but somehow the writer still managed to piss you off. You have quite selective interpretation, Steve.
Let us describe to you what it’s like to write for Odyssey. Being an Odyssey writer allows us to have a platform to express our diverse opinions and ideas. It also lets us utilize our passions for creative writing without being prompted to do it for a grade. Being required to write one article a week keeps us on our feet with the next current event to jump on. We have a constant responsibility to create content, and the generally unpaid job experience teaches us time management skills and how important deadlines are. We must do all of these things with the sole goal of going viral. So, Steve, thank you for helping us in our ventures to get our name out there, we appreciate the shout out.
You mention that “sure some can write, but a few voices don’t speak for an entire site.” Seems a little contradictory to say that a few voices don’t speak for an entire site, when you’ve used two voices to justify your hatred for an entire site.
On one hand, you are right. This is not professional journalism. We are not all English and journalism majors. We do not write for a regular publisher like the New York Times or The Washington Post. Very different from them, we get to choose what we want to write about, and sometimes some writers will write controversial articles... because no one at these major publishers is doing it. The Odyssey isn't perfect, and sometimes there will be misinformed writers, just like you, Steve! But that doesn't make our platform ultimately bad or wrong.
However, you are also wrong. We are writers. We were hired because we had outlooks and stories that needed to be shared. So, as writers for Odyssey, we are happy a story you didn’t expect to be told triggered you to start a conversation. That’s what our goal was in the first place. But most importantly, you cannot assume that untold stories are unworthy of being told.
Thank you for your input, Steve. It really wasn’t appreciated.
- Two (of many) proud Odyssey writers.
