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Violence
addiction
made public
Iraq war veteran barred
from CCBC campus
after publishing essay
LAUREN SLAVIN
Senior Editor
If you haven’t seen the elephant, you wouldn't understand.
The phrase expresses the idea that if you’ve never served
in an armed conflict, one can’t understand what that experi¬
ence is like, according to Deborah O’Doherty, president of the
Maryland chapter of American War Mothers.
The mother of a veteran who served in Afghanistan, O’Doherty
works with the non-profit organization to create care packages
for troops overseas, as well as other service projects. Veterans
who have recently returned home after duty will speak to the
group to express their gratitude and reach out to those who
might understand them.
One of these veterans was Charles Whittington, a Purple Heart
recipient who transitioned from the army to the Community
College of Baltimore County.
But mixing his experiences in Iraq with a college assignment
would gamer national attention for Whittington.
Whittington’s English class essay, which was published by
the CCBC student newspaper, The Connection, resulted in
the college administration barring him from campus until he
receives a psychological evaluation.
“Instead of CCBC treating him like a hero, they’re treating
him like a criminal. It was practically, ‘Thank you Mr. veteran,
but stay away from us," O’Doherty said who is a close friend of
Whittington’s since his discharge.
The article, titled "War is a Drug," included descriptions of an
infantry soldier’s addiction to killing.
"Killing is a drug to me and has been ever since the first time
1 have killed someone," Whittington wrote in his essay. “At first,
it was weird and felt wrong, but by the time of the third and
fourth killing, it feels so natural. It feels like I could do this for
the rest of my life and it makes me happy.”
The published essay was so graphic that CCBC director of
media relations, Hope Davis, said the administration had to
step in.
“If something may be threatening or concerning to the overall
college community, it’s our duty to take action,” Davis said.
"Students write a lot of things in the paper the administration
may agree with or not agree with that they have the right to
publish. I think it was the graphic nature of this article that
was disturbing.”
Whether writing an academic essay or fictional story, the use
of personal experiences by students in their college assignments
isn’t a new tactic.
For student veterans, the process of putting their experiences
down on paper or through another artistic medium such as the¬
atre, music or drawing, can help them come to terms, according
to coordinator of Towson’s Veterans Center and 2010 alumnus
Patrick Young.
As a political science major, Young used writing not as an
outlet, but to advance his position on a topic in research papers.
"It was almost impossible not to use my experiences to prove
my point or express how I felt about another issue that was
similar,” he said. "[The subject matter] never deterred me from
writing. I never thought something I wrote I would be punished
for."
But this isn’t a unique experience. Some students study¬
ing creative writing, which is offered as a minor at Towson
University, put as much of themselves on paper as they do ink
from their pen.
Sophomore Stephanie Acierno, a creative writing minor, said
she went through a similar experience as Whittington in high
school, when she had to make the decision to write about a
personal subject a teacher might misunderstand.
See VET, page 8
Courtesy of CNN
Charles Whittington was barred from CCBC after his
creative essay was published in the school’s newspaper.
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