I have been reading the Daily for four years and have enjoyed almost every one. It is certainly not a perfect publication, but then again, its purpose is to offer its writers experience and its readers information in a timely manner. And by the way, being on the Daily staff is quite a job for a number of students. Not until now, however, have I been so moved by a letter to the editor that I felt compelled to respond (Jan. 14, by Aaron Woell).

Mr. Woell criticizes the Daily for doing a “poor job of informing the readership … about their surroundings and the community,” because the Daily’s coverage of politics, business, foreign affairs and domestic policy is so lacking, he is sure he “would learn more by reading MAD Magazine!”

Aaron, maybe you should read a MAD Magazine — and lighten up. The Iowa State Daily is not the Chicago Tribune, and it is not intended to be. If you are reading it as a substitute for the Tribune, you are grossly misinterpreting the intentions of the Daily. And any attempt to compare it to the Tribune or Des Moines Register is completely asinine (Oooo, ahhh … look at the big words).

The Iowa State Daily is just that — a daily publication that prints articles and columns of interest to Iowa State students and staff, and the immediate community.

Now, I haven’t read the Daily’s mission statement lately, but I do know that it doesn’t say anything about reporting world news more thoroughly than the Chicago Tribune. If that’s what you’re looking for, you ought to know better than to look for it in a college publication. WorldNews Tonight with Peter Jennings is on channel 5 at 5:30, and you can catch him again at 10:30.

You are indeed correct in your statement that “no matter what the Daily prints, it will be read” — by somebody. Generally, I read the paper cover to cover, and I imagine many students do.

But last time I checked, there weren’t any police reports claiming that Aaron Woell was held against his will, forced to read fictional accounts of some student’s life. And you are also correct that the Daily has the opportunity to inform students, and I might add that it should not be taken lightly. But are you so caught up in your world events that you can’t see the value of the Daily? Don’t you realize how many students turn to the Daily for campus information and activities, current issues to contemplate, new fashions, good music, cool bars, and (God forbid) HUMOR?!

Nathan Silberhorn

Senior

Civil Engineering