The September issue of The Drummer, an “alternative” newspaper which is funded by student fees, has just appeared on campus.

Returning students are probably familiar with The Drummer’s demonization of gun owners and veneration of omnipotent government and such luminaries as Marx and Che.

None of this seems to have changed over the summer.

The present issue also provides some wise advice for the new students. They are warned of the evils of bookstores which make a profit: “Beyond shoplifting (which we discourage unless you can get away with it), your choices are limited.”

And there is a lesson in money management: “Credit card companies are your enemies. Rip them off whenever possible.”

I must give The Drummer credit for ethical consistency: If it is moral to have the government steal for you, by force yet, it should be equally laudable to do the stealing yourself.

But I do not think the university community is best served by spending student fees to persuade students to become thieves.

Moreover, this issue includes a sex column from Wisconsin, which features a woman’s description of receiving oral sex from a dog.

You don’t have to be a “family values” prude to find this unpleasant reading over lunch, nor to dislike the thought that some of your mandatory fees might have been spent to bring it to you.

Wendy L. Applequist

Graduate student

Botany