Today’s letter from Sara Junck admonishing Vice President for Student Affairs Dr. Thomas Hill for an off-hand remark is a prime example of how feminism keeps itself from mainstream success through petty political posturing and by attacking its own supporters for brief gains. Yesterday’s Daily reported that Dr. Hill won a bronze medal in the 1972 Olympics and gave the medal to a friend. Dr. Hill said if his friend did not still have the medal, he “might just have to kill her.” A common phrase in American vernacular; one parents do not even correct their children for saying. A remark that would have gained no attention had his friend not been a woman. This kind of over-reaction on the part of some feminists hurts the feminist cause in general. This kind of fingerpointing is more likely to make women as well as men abandon feminism in principle though most would support its fundamental principles of equality. Many support equality and would never question whether or not women should receive equal pay for doing the same job as a man. Many people will gladly tell you they want violence against women to end. But many do not want to be associated with this kind of extremist mud-slinging. They might well support the cause if they didn’t think the cause was all about women vs. men and bogus claims. No one knows what the cause is when innocuous slang is demonized for brief political gain. Dr. Hill is one of the good guys and shouldn’t be made an example of how casual comments contribute to women getting beaten. These logical leaps leave people scratching their heads. Junck said, “perhaps the eradication of violence from our language will curb violence in our society.” She might be right. George Orwell certainly thought this tactic would work when he wrote “1984.” Editorial Board: Carrie Tett, Greg Jerrett, Katie Goldsmith, Amie Van Overmeer and Andrea Hauser