Letter:

Hello East Vision Staff,

I would like to question the thought process behind an article that was recently published in our school’s paper titled “Crimes in EGR: The Bubble Has Been Breached.”

I won’t reiterate what was said, but what I assume was an article aiming to tell our school community about the very normal rise in crime that occurs during the summer (according to a study due by the Bureau of Justice Statistics) turns into an article that uses words with very negative connotations. East Grand Rapids has been called “the bubble” for years, and the notion of East being a bubble has forever existed in this predominantly white, affluent community.

This article makes it seem like our bubble is something to be proud of when this is simply not the case. I would, as the reader, like to inspire a discourse on the use of the words “our bubble” in future articles, because of the implication that we are proud of not being diverse, proud of being separate, and proud of looking down at the rest of the city.

I would love to have a conversation about this in future; these were just my thoughts about this article.

— Chris Bruinsma ’19

Response:

Chris,

I agree with your points made about the negative connotations surrounding “the bubble”. East Grand Rapids faces similar problems that other communities faces: among them, drug and alcohol abuse, divorce and loss, as well as break ins, and petty crime. I also agree that the term is too often used to imply our lack of diversity and that this is not something to be celebrated

However, my intent with my article “Has the bubble been breached?” was never to preach the positivity behind that name. Rather, the use of “the bubble” in the title of my article was meant to be ironic. My article does not focus on the word “the bubble” it instead focuses on statistics of crime within EGR. So, the title was meant to bring irony to the name by showing that EGR is not exempt from criminal activity and is similar to many surrounding towns.

My article was not written to focus on the name “the bubble” and to preach any sort of positivity behind the word. My uses of the word “bubble” within the article serve the purpose of irony, and only irony. They are meant to show the reader that the positive use of “the bubble” is dismissive of its true connotations.

The purpose of my article was simply to inform EGR residents of the crime conditions in our community and eliminate any concern. While I agree with you that “the bubble” does have negative connotations, I must defend my use of it within this article as a writer. I respect and appreciate your decision to reach out to me as the writer of this article and do agree a discussion should be started about it. However, my article frankly does not agree with the term “the bubble” and I truly believe it in no way enhances any positivity behind that name.

— Ally Jackoboice ’18, Staff Writer

Read the article this letter is addressing here.