To GSB President Adam Gold:

One reason I vote is so that whenever an elected official, such as yourself, puts his foot in his mouth, I can laugh— giggle really freaking loudly and say, “Whew, I’m sure glad I didn’t vote for his ass.”

I usually don’t try to sound like I’m attacking someone, but there are things that have to be said.

Adam, Adam, Adam. What are you thinking?

If my memory serves me correctly, you are a student official, which means you are elected by students.

So wouldn’t this make your constituents students?

Are you not supposed to support those who elected you?

Are you not supposed to stand for the rights of other students?

Did I miss it? Does it say somewhere in your job description that you are supposed to brown-nose the administration whenever possible?

If I missed it somewhere, let me know. I try to research my information before I say anything about it, so if I missed something, just let me know.

What is the deal, Mr. Gold?

I hope this whole Jack Trice thing has not clouded your mind with delusions of grandeur.

I hope your feeling of accomplishment hasn’t swayed your mind into spinning flashbacks of Rocky movies. Don’t start humming “Eye of the Tiger” verses or jumping up and down with your arms in the air on the steps of Beardshear Hall just yet, homey.

Renaming the stadium after Jack Trice is an incredible accomplishment for this university. It is a long time in coming and a fitting tribute.

However, ask yourself these questions:

Isn’t the timing kind of funny?

If it weren’t for the positive social disorder caused by The September 29th Movement and the Black Student Alliance, would the proposal have gone through so easily?

If it weren’t for members of The September 29th Movement and the Black Student Alliance causing the university to check itself, would your proposal have looked so appealing to the university?

Why is Jack Trice opposition so nonexistent this time, from a university standpoint, compared to other years?

Is President Jischke trying to throw a proverbial bone to the so-called hell-raisers on campus in hopes of quieting them?

But what I really want to know is: Why will you not support the Beardshear Eight students?

These are your fellow students. Sure, you may not agree with their stance on the Catt Hall issue. What about their rights as students? What about the fact that the university has treated them unfairly and unjustly?

Close your eyes and think really hard. Put yourself in their shoes.

What if the university did something you did not support? And, in the process of protesting and letting your voice be heard, you were brought up on charges and then told that you must relinquish your leadership position. A position in which you try very hard to do the best job you can. A position into which your fellow students voted you because they wanted you to represent them.

I’m sure you can relate to this without much problem, can’t you?

Remember that you work WITH the university but FOR the students of Iowa State.

My grandmother always said, “Don’t bite the hand that feeds you.”

And right about now you have bitten the fingers clean off.

I’m not one to tell anyone how to do his or her job, or how to conduct his- or herself. But I can teach people how to sail, and my friend, I hate to tell you, but I think you missed the boat.

I figured you must have forgotten that the students make the university what it is. Not the administration and not the alumni, but the students.

This is an institution of higher learning, and what could be uneducational about addressing issues that are pertinent to this campus? What could be uneducational about understanding all different types of views on all sorts of distinct issues?

The fact that we have students strong enough to do a little rebelling, a little protesting—students who are willing to get just a little loud with the powers that be— makes Iowa State stronger than most campuses in the nation. It makes the students on our campus stronger than those on most other campuses in the nation.

You (yes, you, Mr. Gold) are a leader on this campus, and possibly the most observed leader. Your constituents expect a lot more from you. What eight of these students needed last week was your support, not your opposition.

It was the bottom of the ninth, bases loaded, full count and the score was tied. Guess what? You struck out.

Your fellow student,

Rhaason Khary Mitchell

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Rhaason Mitchell is a junior in journalism and mass communication from Chicago.