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| Thumbs-up to staff of The Appalachian |
John T. Bennett
ASU Class of 2002
jtb01@aol.com |
To
The Editor:
This is a response to a letter penned by Mrs.
Jeanne Irwin-Olson (ASU Class of 1992) that appeared in the Oct.
31 issue and those individuals allegedly seen removing a paid advertisement
insert from the pages of The Appalachian recently.
I believe Mrs. Irwin-Olson and the alleged insert-thieves
seem blind of a few things about the newspaper business.
First, those who supplied the insert paid to
have it included in that issue.
I am confident that if any individual or group
would like to respond with their views on abortion, the editors
of The Appalachian - whom I know to be serious, professionally competent
student-journalists - would allow them to pay for an ad or insert
touting their views.
It is worth pointing out that all advertisements
are propagandist in nature, no matter the product they are pushing.
Furthermore, as a newspaper, The Appalachian
has a duty not to shy away from igniting a public debate on important
social issues. A newspaper that dodges issues like abortion does
nothing to benefit its readership or its community as a whole.
As a journalist, I tip my professional hat to
the paper’s management for refusing to bow to political correctness
and tackling this controversial issue head on.
The sentiments of Mrs. Irwin-Olson and the actions
of the alleged insert-thieves upholds something disturbing I found
during my time in Boone: at Appalachian State University, those
people whom most would expect to be “open-minded” are
only so when their agenda is being served. |
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The Appalachian: Doing what’s
right
Editor’s Note: This letter is in
response to Jeanne Irwin-Olson’s letter to the editor “Abortion
insert an outrage to alumni” published Oct. 31. |
James T. Wilkes
Class of 1987
jtw@cs.appstate.edu |
To
The Editor:
I attended Homecoming a couple of weeks ago with
my parents (all of us alumni) and three of my four children (my
wife was at home with our other child, not yet ready to cheer on
the football team). I was proud, thrilled and encouraged to see
the very eye-catching advertising supplement in the Oct. 24 issue.
At the time I was a student and more recently
as a faculty member, I cannot recall a time when the staff of The
Appalachian has allowed this type of extremely useful information
to be placed in the paper. Has funding increased? Are they willing
to risk a withdrawal of advertising dollars in response to this
type of insert? Or has the campus climate changed that much in 15
years since I graduated that people truly embrace the ideas of tolerance,
diversity and free speech? In any case, I was happy to see the insert
and hope that you hear from other students, faculty, staff, parents
and alumni that appreciate this service to students.
The abortion issue is often tilted in favor of
the pro-abortion view via the media. I commend the advertising and
editorial staff of The Appalachian for their good judgment and courage
in allowing the Human Life Alliance insert to be placed in their
fine college newspaper. As for the insert being a “glossy pack
of lies,” read it for yourself.
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