Letters to the Editor_____________________________

Look at both sides of the referendum

When I picked up The Collegian on Monday, I was filled with disappointment and anger. In an attempt to build support for their upcoming referendum, The Collegian abused their resources and created a propaganda-filled publication.

The editor in chief took the liberty of using the front page to publish a personal letter supporting the referendum and decided that he didn’t have the responsibility to objectively report on this fee increase.

Two additional pages were devoted to presenting only supporting opinions. Page seven was blatant:

19 students were questioned about The Collegian referendum, and conveniently they all agreed that an increase was justified.

Since our student newspaper does not think it is responsible for presenting both sides of the issue, I will pick up the slack. The Collegian has rationalized this fee increase by stating that this ensures “freedom of the press.” This is naïvely optimistic.

In the present model, the student government (elected by students) allocates or administrates substantial funds to The Collegian. If this referendum passes, a five-member board will solely govern Collegian funds where only two students are members. The three other voting members are administrators and faculty. How are we ensuring freedom of the press by taking control of The Collegian from students and giving it to administrators and professors?

Anytime we vote as students for a fee increase, it is an important decision. The Collegian referendum is no different. Please research the issues, consider them carefully, and vote.

—Neil Gibson
Senior, agricultural business
Former Associated Students president

The Collegian covers itself too much

A newspaper has an ethical responsibility to be fair and unbiased. The Collegian has shown in its last three issues that, apparently, it has no problem abusing its power and being slanted if it has a special interest.

For example, The Collegian has taken it upon itself to support its own referendum by printing many news articles. If any other group on campus wanted to support any issue, how much coverage would they receive? Well, when our Health Center referendum came up for a vote last semester, only one news article was printed before the election.

Hmmm.

Additionally, The Collegian has chosen to be misleading. Last Wednesday’s front-page article titled “05 AS Elections,” filled the front page with how much the candidates support The Collegian referendum.

How interesting that the most important issue affecting students just happens to be The Collegian referendum.

Furthermore, I am shocked that The Collegian has the audacity to state that a 20-40 percent increase per year in our mandatory fees to the newspaper is “inflationary.” The last time I checked, the U.S. is averaging 4 percent inflation per year. To claim that this increase is inflationary is a lie. In reality, we are voting for an $11 per year increase to our fees, which will be phased in over a five-year period.
As stated by The Collegian’s current editor in chief, “A newspaper has a responsibility to its readers” (April 18). Do you think they have upheld this?

—Raj Singh Badhesha
Senior, business

Student elections a lost cause

Associated Students claims to “serve as the voice for students” but in actuality, their very own voices were only as resonant as their sighs. Last year, fewer than 10 percent of the students participated in the AS elections.

Clearly, this year, that count would receive a significant boost, primarily credited to Deborah Napoleon’s ceaseless efforts as the AS election commissioner. But, in my opinion, the election’s popularity rating is still substantially below the mark. Why is it that I was more inclined to watch the USU sponsored “Meet the Fockers” or attend the Career Job Fair?

Let’s consider the near-hopeless possibility that we have a massive voter turnout on election day. In that case, the wannabe senators are likely to be candidates of a lottery drawing.

Seriously, how many of you are actually aware of the credibility of the candidates? The candidates are likely to be picked randomly.

And then there is the write-in space allowing you to enlist anone as a candidate, even your pet frog; it is a desperate call for position fillers. So, if a couple of my mischievous peers come about to list my name, there’s a good chance that I might receive a call from AS reminding me to attend the senator orientation. Don’t keep your phones off the hook; in this election, everyone’s a candidate.

—Hyder M. Alamgir
Freshman, electrical engineering

Gratitude for good service

I came to the bookstore to make a small purchase. The item I wanted was not on the shelves, so Nancy Lastreto went downstairs and found it. I now discovered I had walked across campus but had forgotten my wallet, containing my cash and ATM card.

I asked Nancy, who had never seen me before, but must be an excellent judge of such things, for a $2 loan. She complied with a happy, "Don't worry about it." I know she meant it as a gift if I forgot about it.

I believe she acts this way because she has benefited from freedom in the sense the president speaks of freedom for other peoples. In any case, she is top notch in supplying quality service and I'd like this to be a formal commendation of her.

—Dwayne A. McCalister
Professor, College of Engineering