“The blog was created because I was reading the Hilltop Monitor and noticed how ambiguous the language of the editorial columns tends to be,” Williams said. “As in, they're open to a variety of interpretations, not just my ‘in the gutter’ ones, which you'll see in upcoming content [on my blog].”
Williams writes under a false name because this allows her greater creative latitude in the subjects she discusses. “I created [the blog anonymously] because it allows for more free expression,” Willaims said. “Plus, the mystery of who I am creates buzz and interest.”
Though, Williams said that she does not have a specific aim with The Hillbottom Monitor, nor does the writer have any one particular concern to address. “I'm not answering questions, just providing cultural commentary. That cannot be truly accomplished unless approached from the outside,” Williams said. “Distancing myself from the Jewell community makes it easier to irreverently comment on the culture holistically.”
But does this distance make Williams inaccessible? The author resolutely replied, “absolutely not.”“I have responded to each message, chat, and other request on Facebook, Twitter, and the blog. I can be engaged very easily and encourage it,” said Williams. “The fact that I have an alumni currently hitting on me via facebook messages expresses the ‘non-static nature’ of my voice. It's been awkward in that situation, but all interactions have been entertaining.”
Given that the name of both blog and the blogger are founded on distortions, it’s fitting that Williams’ career as an underground columnist should begin with a similar distortion. On October 23, The Hillbottom Monitor ran its first article titled, “Ménage á Jewell: Housing Policy Questions More Than Alcohol,” a reimaging of the Alison Ward’s staff column in the October 16 issue of the Hilltop Monitor. Ward’s complaint that, “I was informed that I would be required to live on campus for the rest of my college career,” morphed into, “I was informed that I would be required to live on campus for the rest of my college career, thus effectively ending my business as a Craigslist ‘entrepreneur’,” reading a sexual pun into the sentence. Again, Ward: “The story did not cover just another on-campus alcohol bust, but rather an incident that involved underage first-years and a newly designated senior-only residence hall.” And now, Williams: “The story did not cover just another on-campus alcohol bust, but rather an incident that involved underage first-years, a leather-cast swing and a newly designated senior-only residence hall,” the blogger wrote. “These factors considered, I have to admit that as a co-host of the event, I was disappointed that the Monitor had to cover it without including photos, videos or schematics.”
Williams argues that repossessing this column neutralizes a potential claim for slander. “I place no current students' names on the columns being published,” the blogger said. “They are published as interpretations of others' works.”
Another entity that is being repossessed is the title of this paper, The Hilltop Monitor. Nevertheless, the blogger held that the title The Hillbottom Monitor is not a deliberate jab at this publication. “It is simply something that was easily associated with the campus, not to call out you or your staff specifically,” Williams said. “Plus, names like The Cardinal Conundrum (one of the alternative names I considered) didn’t seem so easily attached to the campus.”
In regards to whether the licentious opinions expressed in Williams’ column reflect a real movement within the Jewell community, the blogger explained that, at the very least, the ideas expressed are something people are looking for themselves and reading. “Readers give legitimacy to my work. If people stop reading, I stop being relevant,” Williams said. “But because I had 300 unique visitors to the Hillbottom Monitor blog in the last 24 hours, my legitimacy and relevance are established.”
Williams said that her columns are important to diversity with the choir of voices within the Jewell community that all too often come off sounding like only a trio or a quartet. Williams said “[The Hillbottom Monitor] challenges the assumptions of the Jewell community by asking the [members] to get out of their comfort zones and really examine their work. Satire requires interpretation, and if you interpret it as just an insult, you miss the entire meaning behind the work we publish by going with the easiest assumption.”
“I challenge the Jewell that the Viewbook [on the school website] presents by presenting Jewell (granted, in an extreme form for comedy) as it actually exists and without the glossy overcoats and staged photos,” the blogger said.
Williams writes under a false name because this allows her greater creative latitude in the subjects she discusses. “I created [the blog anonymously] because it allows for more free expression,” Willaims said. “Plus, the mystery of who I am creates buzz and interest.”
Though, Williams said that she does not have a specific aim with The Hillbottom Monitor, nor does the writer have any one particular concern to address. “I'm not answering questions, just providing cultural commentary. That cannot be truly accomplished unless approached from the outside,” Williams said. “Distancing myself from the Jewell community makes it easier to irreverently comment on the culture holistically.”
But does this distance make Williams inaccessible? The author resolutely replied, “absolutely not.”“I have responded to each message, chat, and other request on Facebook, Twitter, and the blog. I can be engaged very easily and encourage it,” said Williams. “The fact that I have an alumni currently hitting on me via facebook messages expresses the ‘non-static nature’ of my voice. It's been awkward in that situation, but all interactions have been entertaining.”
Given that the name of both blog and the blogger are founded on distortions, it’s fitting that Williams’ career as an underground columnist should begin with a similar distortion. On October 23, The Hillbottom Monitor ran its first article titled, “Ménage á Jewell: Housing Policy Questions More Than Alcohol,” a reimaging of the Alison Ward’s staff column in the October 16 issue of the Hilltop Monitor. Ward’s complaint that, “I was informed that I would be required to live on campus for the rest of my college career,” morphed into, “I was informed that I would be required to live on campus for the rest of my college career, thus effectively ending my business as a Craigslist ‘entrepreneur’,” reading a sexual pun into the sentence. Again, Ward: “The story did not cover just another on-campus alcohol bust, but rather an incident that involved underage first-years and a newly designated senior-only residence hall.” And now, Williams: “The story did not cover just another on-campus alcohol bust, but rather an incident that involved underage first-years, a leather-cast swing and a newly designated senior-only residence hall,” the blogger wrote. “These factors considered, I have to admit that as a co-host of the event, I was disappointed that the Monitor had to cover it without including photos, videos or schematics.”
Williams argues that repossessing this column neutralizes a potential claim for slander. “I place no current students' names on the columns being published,” the blogger said. “They are published as interpretations of others' works.”
Another entity that is being repossessed is the title of this paper, The Hilltop Monitor. Nevertheless, the blogger held that the title The Hillbottom Monitor is not a deliberate jab at this publication. “It is simply something that was easily associated with the campus, not to call out you or your staff specifically,” Williams said. “Plus, names like The Cardinal Conundrum (one of the alternative names I considered) didn’t seem so easily attached to the campus.”
In regards to whether the licentious opinions expressed in Williams’ column reflect a real movement within the Jewell community, the blogger explained that, at the very least, the ideas expressed are something people are looking for themselves and reading. “Readers give legitimacy to my work. If people stop reading, I stop being relevant,” Williams said. “But because I had 300 unique visitors to the Hillbottom Monitor blog in the last 24 hours, my legitimacy and relevance are established.”
Williams said that her columns are important to diversity with the choir of voices within the Jewell community that all too often come off sounding like only a trio or a quartet. Williams said “[The Hillbottom Monitor] challenges the assumptions of the Jewell community by asking the [members] to get out of their comfort zones and really examine their work. Satire requires interpretation, and if you interpret it as just an insult, you miss the entire meaning behind the work we publish by going with the easiest assumption.”
“I challenge the Jewell that the Viewbook [on the school website] presents by presenting Jewell (granted, in an extreme form for comedy) as it actually exists and without the glossy overcoats and staged photos,” the blogger said.
