The newspaper, in its purest essence, is a tool for democracy. Provocative opinions are supposed to be printed in the paper, creating a healthy and necessary examination of issues. However, the news can never be wholly objective. Everyone is biased due to their personal experiences and beliefs. When anything is reported, word choice, quote selection and syntax can reflect these biases. It is necessary, however, to be aware of personal subjectivity and, by recognizing it, to be able to present the story by transcending the bias.

The Opinion section, especially, is an open slot that whole-heartedly acknowledges and embraces these biases. But reading a well-explored editorial examining many sides, and endorsing one, is a good way to develop ideas on an issue. By being bluntly presented with a strong opinion, one cannot help to agree or disagree, thus establishing one’s own ideas on a topic. The Opinion section can be used to combat apathy, and force readers to have their own opinion that challenges issues and the media that present them.

I am incredibly biased. If you haven’t noticed already, I’m feminist. But for my final column in The Daily Evergreen, I wanted to be able to take a chance explore an issue in a new way. I have always been fascinated with participatory journalism. Tuesday was National Equal Pay Day, and I decided to use this day to demonstrate the inequality in wages by trying to raise awareness and write about my experiences.

Women and minorities are discriminated against in the U.S. wage system. Women earn 23 cents less than every man’s dollar, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. This statistic is representative of women and men in the same positions, and does not incorporate part-time work or the women who are unpaid for their work in the home. It is a strict representation of unequal pay for equal work. This injustice also spreads to women of color and men in positions that are marginalized. I decided to demonstrate this issue by sitting on the mall with a poster and a bucket for wage reparations. During my two hours sitting on Glenn Terrell Mall, I received many different reactions and, surprisingly, a little bit of a sunburn. Many people walked by completely ignoring the posters and my shouts. I had a few people join in, one creating her own poster and speaking about wage inequality with passersby, another sitting and shouting in solidarity. One woman who walked by explained to me that women cannot be paid as much as men because it will emasculate men and cause them to cheat on their girlfriends. Another older woman answered my “Where’s my 23 cents?” question with “I guess my husband has it.” A future Cougar threw quarters at us and then was forced to apologize by his mentor. Another older, bearded fellow, who seemed surprised by this inequality, qualified his disbelief by saying, “Women make better managers anyway.” Some simply tried to relate by saying “Wow,” using a number of different expletives or commenting, “That’s not nice.” A few other young men walked by yelling, “Get a job,” and then returned to apologize with a few cents to support the cause.

After the demonstration, I donated the $4.71 in reparations to the Organization of Women, Gender and Equality, the women’s studies student group. Pay inequity represents a greater societal problem. Fighting for equal wages, against discriminating paychecks, is just one fight amid many. But by raising awareness about this issue and by writing about these experiences, I was attempting to inspire change on campus, fighting the power for equality and peace. Everyone can do his or her own demonstration and be his or her own citizen journalist. If there is something that really bothers you, make a statement. All you need is some poster board and a little conviction to be your own media.