Biased coverage

Alex Rodeck

After reading your nearly complete front-page spread on Allan Nosworthy’s hunger strike, I find myself slightly confused.

Isn’t a paper supposed to be unbiased and objective? The article written by Keesia Wirt, Rhaason Mitchell and Tara Deering titled “University reaction is one of concern” shows the lack of gumption by the editor and staff of the Daily to sufficiently do their job. The article shows a definite bias and support for Nosworthy’s cause. The article goes so far as to open with a quote from Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr.

That quote seems to indicate the writers want Nosworthy to succeed and will use a public paper as a soapbox to voice their opinion. The paper has a place for a person’s opinion, and that is right along with my letter to the editor, not on the front page.

Allan Nosworthy shows some amount of courage, and just as much stupidity by starving himself.

The health deterioration that he may suffer can be permanent and may just as well serve no cause at all if (when) he doesn’t succeed.

I myself believe the name of Catt Hall should not be changed. Carrie Chapman Catt was a great facilitator in the women’s right movement, and I realize that even though I’m male.

She may have done it differently than some people may have wanted her to, but we have to remember this was the early 1900s and the way that Catt thought and spoke was the way she was raised.

Just the fact that she spoke out for the rights of women was iconoclastic. She did so much, and now people want us to just wipe her from people’s memories over some racist remarks. Come on, be real.

You cannot just erase history if it appears negative in today’s world. The Germans tried that after World War II, and it isn’t right.

Nosworthy does have some good points that he is trying to make in his eight theses.

I can agree with the fact that ISU needs some more multicultural programs, but not just those dealing with minorities. I myself would like to learn more about my heritage.

However, I strongly disagree with two points: the renaming of Carrie Chapman Catt Hall, and the recruitment and retention of lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender teachers.

First, the recruitment of LGBT teachers is unlikely as well as unconstitutional, if not illegal.

How would you propose we do that? Should a team of administrators go around asking teachers if they are gay and if the teachers respond affirmatively, they should be hired?

I seem to be remembering a section in the student handbook, which probably has a similar section in the employee handbook, stating that decisions cannot be made based on gender, religion, race, creed or sexual preference. I believe the hiring of gay teachers would most definitely break that last one.

Nosworthy has his heart set on helping the minority community, and that’s good, but the Daily should not dedicate a front page to him. They shouldn’t worship him in literature; for once a paper starts to detour from a professional standpoint on journalism, it should no longer be published as a NEWSpaper, but rather as an opinion column.


Alex Rodeck

Freshman

Animal science

Pre-veterinary medicine