To paraphrase Danielle Heselbach, I was greatly distressed to open my ISU Daily and see such a biased and uninformed letter.

She asks why a student needs to go to such an extreme as self-starvation to promote his beliefs. Mr. Nosworthy doesn’t need to do this, he has CHOSEN to do this. Contrary to Ms. Heselbach’s belief, no one is blocking Mr. Nosworthy’s right to be heard.

As I recall, the Daily did a front page story on what Mr. Nosworthy was going to do and why. While I admire Mr. Nosworthy’s courage to take such a bold step in promoting his beliefs, I cannot and will not accept Ms. Heselbach’s blame for his CHOOSING to go on a hunger strike.

As to her suggesting that I, as a white male, need to look at my privileged position, I take great offense.

While I do have my own car and an off campus apartment, these things were not handed to me because of my skin color. I obtained these by working 40 hours a week for the last three years in a factory while going to school full time.

On top of this, I also have about $14,000 in student loans to help finance my stay in Ames. Sorry Danielle, no “white boy” full-ride scholarships for me.

Ms. Heselbach’s letter also seems to imply that only minorities suffer from severe poverty. Maybe Ms. Heselbach should look to the next mountain range east to see that whites suffer from just as severe a poverty situation as minorities.

In Appalachia country there are families trying to survive on as little as $300 a month.

In closing, I would like to state that I support Mr. Nosworthy’s desire to change the name of Catt Hall, but I will not be forced to take responsibility for the results actions that he has chosen to take.

Steve Hanes

Senior

History