Opinion Compiled by Natalie Killion Photos by Trina Pham THE CREIGHTONIAN “What was the most enjoyable moment during your break?” “Sleeping. I enjoyed that very much.” If you had to make a time capsule to preserve the values and traditions of the 21st century, would you want to include all of the seasons of “e Bachelor” and “e Bachelorette” on DVD? No doubt would people in 3012 — that sounds weird out loud — find it enjoyable, but it also seems like an embarrassing thing that describes our culture. Entertainment aside, watching a TV show with a bunch of women fighting for a man — or vice versa — sounds downright ridiculous. On the other hand... yes it sounds ridiculous, but that doesn’t stop too many people from watching it. As the king of all dating shows, “e Bachelor” has a solid 15 seasons under its belt and is currently working on its 16th. Its sister show, “e Bachelorette,” also boasts an impressive seven seasons, with millions tuning in to both shows. ese shows not only represent the declining standards of love, but they represent audiences’ declining standards as well. We watch just about anything to see some drama and maybe even a wedding proposal at the end. I admit that I watch “e Bachelor.” I know it is a bunch of trash. I know the success rate of relationships it produces — only one couple that met on the show actually married — and I know that it is a waste of my time. However, I am drawn in, along with the millions of others who call themselves devoted fans. Curiosity gets the best of us when we consistently tune in to see the different types of men and women vying for a shot at love, all while we make predictions of who will stay and who will go. Logically, why would someone ever sign up to compete against 24 other people for a shot at love? Specifically for “e Bachelor,” the other 24 aren’t just ordinary women either; most of them look like Miss America runners-up. Not to mention when that many women are packed into one mansion in California — and a variety of hotel suites across the globe — the nails are bound to come out. I guess if you make it far enough to travel on the show, but leave sans fiancé, your time wasn’t completely wasted — hey you got to rack up some frequent flyer miles! But honestly, wouldn’t you want the opportunity to travel without needing to remind yourself of the “heartbreak” you experienced in that country? Hypothetically, if I got to experience the best date of my life on the Eiffel Tower and then Mr. Bachelor decided to send me home, I can’t say I would want to run back to Paris anytime soon. e dates are extravagant, which the audience expects if a popular network foots the bill. However, we can’t expect a relationship built on helicopter rides and trips to Cabo to last. Once the cameras turn off, they are alone in the real world. No mansions in California. No couple’s suite of the week. ey go back to their normal lives, just with the happy bonus of a significant other. For some, this might work if they actually got to know each other in the brief amount of time necessary for filming. For about 95 percent of the rest of the couples, the relationship fails soon aſter the show airs. Why? But they seemed so blissfully happy when she said “yes” to him on the cliff in New Zealand, smiling and laughing with the royal blue waters dancing in the distance! News flash: they barely know each other. Speeding up the dating process — which alone sounds too calculated and scientific — into two months is absurd, as well as being a formula for disaster. I know it’s entertaining and I know it’s hard to look away when it’s on TV, but this show is taking away a piece of our intelligence, as well as diminishing our sense of morals and standards. True love is not found through a reality show. On that note, let’s wish winemaker Ben from Sonoma the best of luck on his quest for love! Who knows, maybe this one will work out. Two out of 16 is a good ratio…right? ‘Bachelor’ needs reality check I was a lame kid. I just thought I’d share that. My older brother John and I are two years apart and then my younger brother Kevin is nine years younger than I am. So needless to say, Kevin is growing up with nearly adult-aged siblings and leſt to fend for himself as an “only child” at home with mom and dad. He has no older siblings to play with and is all by himself with two adults. It must be so boring because John and I are so incredibly cool. With me living in Nebraska and John living in Connecticut, Kevin is the only one leſt in the nest in Portland, Maine. Poor kid! Try again. He is living the life and we are definitely not cool. Kevin has more of a social life at age 11 than I have at almost 21 years old. I know it makes me sound ancient to say it, but kids these days are just so lucky! And honestly, they are just wicked cool. I look back at kid pictures of myself, donning a corduroy jumper with a patterned turtleneck, not to mention the Barney socks and jelly sandals (long live the 90s!). Kids these days are FaceTiming on their iPhones, wearing Ugg boots and designer jeans. Yeah, that was definitely not me. Kevin, always active and a tri-season athlete, is rarely not wearing Under Armour or Nike gear. Even his basketball team is outfitted with various styles of basketball shoes that exceed $80 a pair, easy. I’m pretty sure that our basketball teams in middle school were rocking the Famous Footwear deal of the week on “boy’s basketball” shoes. Not only do they look cooler than I could ever dream of at that age, (the Limited Too was the only version of cool that girls my age knew back then), but they have intense social lives. I got home over break and my parents asked, “what are you up to tonight?” and as I hesitate on an answer, my little brother is texting (probably about cool plans) while also sprinting for the house phone when it rang. He knocked it out of my hands because “Christina, it’s going to be for me!” anks Kev, way to rub it in. Within 10 minutes he was asking me for a ride to his buddy’s house a couple streets over and I was re-examining my social life. Oh well. I later joked with my parents that Kevin was way cooler than John or I ever were. ey didn’t explicitly agree, but they sure didn’t disagree. Love you too Mom and Dad. But it’s true. Plus, that night of watching a rental movie with my dog was really fun…right? Even babies now are cooler than I was. I look at baby clothes’ sections at department stores and see dresses that are fancier and cuter than ones hanging in my closet. Clothes that make more of a statement than my one-snap, zip-up, sock-style onesies. Yep, even the eight month olds dress cooler than me. I guess it’s just a different time. It’s scary to me that kids are already so focused on social acceptance, brands and popularity, but they are. So until I am “mom-age” and am able to decide how to dress my children, I will remain in this taboo period of being jealous of the coolness of kids while trying to find my own version of “cool.” Good luck to me, right? Maybe I’ll ask Kevin for advice. I really hope that I am not the only one who feels this way, as it would make this column far more embarrassing than it already is. Drop a line or stop me on campus if you agree. And please, someone, even if you don’t agree you should pretend like you do…humor me. My Voice Modern children have increased ‘cool factor’ My Voice My Voice I’m taking time in this column to focus on an obsession that I have found I share with many of my friends and peers; my idolization of arguably one of the greatest female performers of this century, Beyoncé Giselle Knowles. While the Beyoncé adoration is one that has been around for a while, it seemed to increase this past month with the birth of her first child, daughter Blue Ivy Carter, with husband Jay-Z. e media reached stalker-ish levels when false rumors spread that Beyoncé gave birth on New Year’s Eve. Every news outlet seemed to be clamoring for the exact moment when the child of one of the country’s top entertainment couples would enter the world. Yet Mrs. Jay-Z seemed determined to not let this media circus affect her child. She first revealed her pregnancy during a performance at the 2011 MTV Video Music Awards, but kept relatively hush about it aſterwards. She and her husband have also yet to follow along with the common celebrity trend of selling baby pictures for millions of dollars. is tasteful restraint is something that I feel is one of the reasons why Beyoncé has become so incredibly popular. She knows she’s a superstar, and she knows that she’s already relevant. Even when she began dating Jay-Z she kept relatively quiet about her personal relationship and kept the focus on her career. Today, she still does not feel the need to document every single move she makes by talking about her pregnancy to every single news source. is also highlights the focus that Beyoncé and Jay-Z have on their daughter, rather than on themselves. Two days aſter their daughter’s birth, Jay-Z released a song, “Glory,” that was dedicated to his daughter. He also featured Blue Ivy’s cries on the track and aſter the song debuted she became the youngest person ever to be featured on a Billboard chart. Upon reading this fact, aſter the initial crushing realization I felt thinking about how much more a three-week-old baby has already accomplished than me and cursing myself for not being born Beyoncé’s daughter, I thought again about how touching it was for Beyoncé and Jay-Z to dedicate a song purely to their daughter. Instead of going for the five-page, awkward “People” magazine spread, they kept it classy and simple. Of course, there still could be a chance that Beyoncé and Jay-Z will go this route and that they are just waiting for the best offer to come along to publish pictures of their daughter. I sincerely hope that they choose not to do this and will instead keep following the quiet path they have chosen so far. So my advice to Beyoncé is to once again keep it classy. Continue to be the strong, independent woman I admire and do not blindly follow the advice of those who tell you to sell baby pictures. Keep focusing on the love you have for your daughter without always feeling the need to force the spotlight on her and act as a role model to other new mothers. Beyoncé keeps it classy Photo courtesy of mp3waxx.com via flickr. -Emalie Price Arts & Sciences senior ANNA HENSEL Columnist CHRISTINA MOORE Columnist ANN DUFFY Columnist