Comments taken out of context
My comments were taken out of context in “Student editor to keep his job” (News, Oct. 8).
The story portrayed me as in opposition to the Colorado State University’s student newspaper’s decision to run a terse editorial against President Bush.
Nothing could be further from the truth. I am an ardent supporter of vigorous First Amendment protections for works by the media, including provocative stories like the one that appeared in the Colorado State newspaper.
A decision to run an abrasive editorial such as the one that appeared in that paper is one for the newspaper editorial staff to make. While the staff should be aware of the consequences, I certainly do not believe that “the paper overstepped the boundaries of freedom of speech and the press” in this instance.
While, of course, there are limits on free speech, such as shouting “Fire!” in a crowded theater, the use of a controversial yet commonly used word in a college newspaper certainly does not create a similar sense of imminent danger.
While the newspaper staff “need(s) to be aware of what their words can cause,” my words of caution do not rise to the level of disagreeing with the newspaper’s decision to run the editorial as the story makes it seem.
And while there may have been a way to write “a clearer, more appropriate” editorial, the decision to write a four-word editorial as opposed to one that was longer and more detailed was the decision of the Colorado State newspaper ““ a decision that I fully support in the name of the First Amendment.
Ryan Dunn
UCLA School of Law student
Columbus Day merits celebration
Traditionally, Columbus Day was observed as a celebration of America. But today, multiculturalists clamor for an “Indigenous Peoples Day,” equating Columbus’ poor treatment of the natives with the Western settlement of America, calling it “the American Genocide.”
In his flaws, Columbus was better than his contemporaries. His treatment of the native peoples was less harsh and cruel than their own intertribal warfare and internal social repression.
Of importance is what set him apart ““ his courage and perseverance ““ which opened up a vast geographic region where Western culture could take root and give rise to the greatest and noblest society in all of history: the United States of America.
Columbus Day should be a celebration of the fundamental rationality of Western culture ““ of individual rights, of the pursuit of happiness, of scientific progress ““ and how it replaced Stone Age poverty with the ever-increasing prosperity we see around us today.
Reject the enshrinement of pre-Columbian primitivism and condemnation of Western culture and instead embrace the post-Columbian ability to pursue ““ and achieve ““ your happiness.
Arthur Lechtholz-Zey
Chief executive officer, LOGIC
Graduate law student
Divulging secrets online is dehumanizing
In response to Kia Makarechi (“Deep dark secrets on World Wide Web,” Oct. 9), I find it sad that so many turn to the Internet to divulge their secrets and that we have to turn to the cold, hard screen of our computers to find real human affection.
Perhaps it is because of the people in our lives, our fear, or even our pride in not wanting to shed our image to those around us, but we do it. Sadly, in our search for affection, we neglect those who care for us the most and whom we care for the most.
In the end, all our public disclosures do not solve the problem of our search for affection.
They do not help us come close to those people most important to us in order to build up those important relationships.
We divulge secrets to those who don’t or can’t really help or criticize us much, and so in seeking love, we are not made more lovable.
Our humanity, our human guilt, and all those things we cannot separate from ourselves need to come out, but we need to use them to help us grow as people and not just release them for the sake of releasing them.
Joshua Nogales
Fourth-year, computer science