As an educator I feel it is my duty to rise to situations in which I see the continuance of blatant ignorance being perpetuated at Iowa State University. Due to the magnitude of ignorance displayed in the letter by Tom Seymour, a graduate student, I was compelled to reply.

I do not expect all people to agree with the research I conduct. Further, some may not even understand it – particularly if they never read the actual document and make their erroneous, misguided and misinformed opinions from a newspaper article that glosses over the manuscript.

Tom Seymour chose to berate me in the Daily, rather than taking time to confirm facts and actually call to see whether or not the study on the television show, “Ally McBeal,” was funded by his precious tax and tuition dollars.

He states, “Am I the only one who finds it a bit disturbing that our precious tax and tuition dollars are being given to this school so that Dr. Patton can watch and rewatch every episode of `Ally McBeal?’ “

Tom, you wasted your own time by writing a misinformed letter.

The next time you choose to exercise your right to free speech and voice an opinion, make sure you have all the facts. Frankly, I could care less about whether or not you like my research, but what I will not tolerate are the lies that you perpetuate in order to make your stand against tuition hikes and tax dollars.

Not all research projects are funded by the university. In fact, this one was not. So rest assured that none of your valuable tax and tuition dollars were used in the dissemination of knowledge. The manuscript critiquing the show “Ally McBeal” was written in my own spare time and published in one of the top journals in the country.

If you want to wage war against the administration, pick something that actually used your tax and tuition dollars.

The fact that you never bothered to check on this or conduct a five-minute investigation of these facts is quite disturbing, particularly since you are a graduate student in education leadership and policy studies. Before you arrogantly slam any person, idea or paper, actually take the time to seek out the facts and educate yourself on the topic at hand.

Based on your poor understanding of my manuscript and the ideas contained therein, it is clear that you never read the research material.

I suggest you quit misinforming and misguiding ISU students and the community with your rhetoric.

Obviously, you have no understanding or appreciation of cutting-edge social sciences research occurring on campus. Educate yourself and get an informed opinion – read the manuscript.

Tracey Owens Patton

Assistant professor of communication

Journalism and mass communication