Recently, Ben Studenski wrote a column in the Daily citing his experiences with the ISU English Department and discussing his frustrations with it. From his own experience, combined with that of others, he drew the conclusion that there were enough problems with the department that it was preferable to take classes at DMACC.

My own experience with the ISU English department has been quite the opposite. I’ve truly enjoyed taking classes such as English 370 (Shakespeare) and 358 (Myth, Folklore and Legend) and have had some exceptional instructors. I even managed to enjoy taking English 105, despite the fact I had enough English courses in high school that I probably didn’t need it.

Enter John Hosler, a senior majoring in English. Mr. Hosler seeks to defend and represent the English department. He asks if Mr. Studenski has ever taken any classes in the department besides 104 and 105, a question which Mr. Studenski answered in his original article. He attacks Mr. Studenski directly and personally with phrases such as “Grade-A Moron,” “Mister Smarty-Pants” and “You don’t have clue number one.” He even concludes his article by commenting, “What a load of crap” to the issue of whether engineers are intelligent.

Meanwhile, he offers no facts or personal experiences to back up his view, aside from saying that he’s learned from a number of fine instructors and has no regrets about being in the ISU English department.

After carefully reading the two arguments (and ignoring my own positive experiences), I’m inclined to side with Mr. Studenski. Mr. Studenski directly discussed the issue at hand with citations and experiences. On the other hand, Mr. Hosler attacked Studenski personally, failed to challenge any facts previously presented, and did not offer any of his own experiences. In one letter, he managed to break every basic rule of winning a debate.

While I certainly disagree with Mr. Studenski’s opinion of the English department, I hope that most English majors have learned better persuasive writing skills by their senior years than Mr. Hosler has.

David Hibbs

Senior

Aerospace engineering