This week as I was scrolling through Facebook and happened upon an article titled “An Open Letter to The Odyssey Online.” Being an individual that does write for Odyssey I decide to click on the link. What I found however was a very judgmental perspective of the site. The first line gets quick to the perspective of the author saying, “Holy shit, your site is bad. Please stop.” As I continued to read, I became more angered and offended. I know that at my school me and the rest of our team work hard to create content that matters to us that we think others might enjoy or relate to. I know that the same goes for other universities all across the country. To the person that I wrote this article I have a few things to say to you.
1. We understand that we are not writing hard hitting journalism, and that we are not professional writers.
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We are not here to bring you professional level journalism. I understand that many of the articles that I myself have written are things you would never see published in a serious news outlet. I enjoy writing articles that are about things that I experience, find funny, or have some interest in. However many of the writers on this site work very hard to bring serious content to the website. The point of Odyssey is to have a platform that people can share a variety of thoughts and ideas on — no where on the site does it say that they are promising you the work of professional journalists or writers.
If you look on the website it is even stated that, “While some creators are seasoned writers others are everyday people with relevant ideas or perspectives that otherwise may not be heard.” So if you are looking for higher quality writing please go read the New York Times, The Boston Globe, or one of the many of the other reputable newspapers out there.
2. Please do not stereotype everyone that writes for Odyssey!
You point out that you think all of us content creators for the site are privileged, white, early 20s college students. While yes I’m sure that this can be said for many, that is not true of every single one. Even if the content creators do fit that description it does not mean that we don’t have the right to share our opinions. You also don’t know the entire background of each individual writer. We are all from different places, have had different experiences, come from different types of families, and have different outlooks. We are not all “the cool kids in high school” as you describe us to be.
3. If you have a problem with the website, please don’t read it!
You have the choice to just ignore the articles that many of your Facebook friends share! Like anything else you see on social media you have the option to scroll right past it, as if you never even saw it. From the sound of it, you are also only looking at and reading articles that confirm your bias. I don’t personally agree with or like the few articles that you mentioned either- but that's just me.
These people are all just putting their ideas and opinions out there, as you would with any other blog. In writing the article I’m talking about you to are putting your ideas out there — so don’t judge other people for doing the same thing. If you don’t like Odyssey then please just ignore it. I respect that you have your own opinion — but please don’t criticize others for having their own opinions too.
