Pathetic is about the only word I can use to describe a university where hatred and intolerance have become commonplace.

Even though this is conservative Iowa, the actions and philosophies of some students have stunned me this year.

I pity those outsiders who read the Opinion pages on the Daily’s on-line edition in hopes of staying familiar with their alma mater. It must be disheartening to see a college campus so out of touch with the rest of society.

People who attended this university 30 years ago aren’t seeing progress, they’re seeing the dilapidation of a college campus they tried to make diverse and welcoming.

After all, according to many letters to the editor, we at ISU refuse to accept anyone who is not white, middle class, heterosexual or conservative in his or her ways of thinking.

While the goal of a newspaper is not to change readers’ moral beliefs, we do have a responsibility to educate them about the events and issues unfolding in their community.

It’s gotten to the point that each time someone on this campus criticizes the Daily for covering The September 29th Movement or Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Ally Alliance, I just roll my eyes and move on to something new.

By covering issues like LGBTAA and The Movement, we provide information and ideas that represent two of today’s most debated topics — sexuality and race relations.

It’s not because we want everyone to agree with the belief that the name of Carrie Chapman Catt Hall should be changed; it’s not because we want everyone to accept homosexuality. It’s simply because these are issues of our time.

As is expected with coverage of not so popular issues, we receive a fair amount of complaints.

Some of my favorite criticisms are from those open-minded people who complain that the Daily is forcing them to read about minority groups.

In fact, an e-mail I received the other day stated, “Your whole goddamn paper today (Friday, April 3) is about nothing but fags, minorities, and worthless news about our school that nobody gives a shit about anyways.”

Or let’s look back at Tuesday’s Daily, when an enlightened reader on the topic of Reverse Campaniling wrote, “I found it very distasteful to put this picture on the front page of the paper, or anywhere else in the paper for that matter. One reason from my distaste and disgust, to be honest, is that I am not comfortable with gay people in general.”

Apparently some people think we need to censor news coverage because they aren’t adult enough to handle it.

Silly me, how dare I provide information about diversity and real-life issues. As editors we don’t cover these events in order to shock or disgust you, we don’t even cover them in hopes of making you agree with them. We just try to inform you about events taking place on our campus that have not garnered attention in the past.

For those readers who complain about the coverage of minority groups, I thank you. Your continued statements of ignorance and hatred only reinforce my belief that as an editor, I must be doing something right.

As I see it, you must be some of our most dedicated readers in order to write such lengthy letters.

It’s actually flattering to think the Daily is so powerful that these offended readers were unable to skip the stories about minorities or look away from the photos featuring homosexuals.

I wonder if these same people write the cable company every time they are subjected to such horror when they’re watching a movie on HBO.

Criticizing the student newspaper is great. We need the feedback, and good or bad, it makes us evaluate our performance.

However, when was the last time an engineering student complained about a photo of Ag Day activities on the front page? Or how many letters to the editor have we read from graduate students who are ticked off because undergrads get too much coverage? It’s been a while since I’ve heard from those angry international students about the high volume of stories involving U.S. students.

We’re not in the business of brainwashing people into accepting homosexuality or embracing diversity, we’re simply providing information about student activities.

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Keesia Wirt is a senior in journalism and mass communication from Panora. She is editor in chief of the Daily.