The Cavalier Daily
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Not for laughs

I wanted to raise my objections to the “Got Stalk? Log On to Facebook” ad that appeared in The Cavalier Daily (2/24/2009). The ad is pointless and unnecessary, and tries to make a throwaway joke about a serious topic. A January 2009 Bureau of Justice Statistics report estimates that 3.4 million persons in the U.S. were stalked between 2005 and 2006, with women being at much greater risk to be stalked. More than half of stalking victims fear bodily harm to themselves or their family members, and many fear that if angered their stalker could physically assault, sexually assault, or murder them. Stalking is a serious form of mental assault which can severely harm the lives of those subjected to it. When an ad like Tuesday’s makes the subject into a joke to be taken lightly, people lose appreciation of what a major problem stalking is and how it damages real people’s lives. Please think twice about using your space to make jokes that trivialize serious subjects.

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