I know it’s hard to believe, but there are some people who graduate from Iowa State who don’t know how to read a newspaper.

On Monday, Sept. 23, the Daily ran an article profiling Jack Trice, the great football player who died after sustaining injuries suffered in a game against Minnesota back in 1923. He was also ISU’s first black football player.

The story, which was written by Karen Cho, stated, “More than a decade ago there was a movement among the students at ISU to name the football stadium after Jack Trice…”

Then, BOOM, there was a letter in Wednesday’s Daily from alumnus Brad Lucht of Kansas City, Mo., that stated, “Daily staff writer Karen Cho erroneously stated that the movement to name the new football stadium came merely a decade ago.

“I suggest your reporter check the Daily archives. I believe it was 1979 when President Parks blocked an effort to name the stadium after Trice.”

If Lucht had learned to read a newspaper with a keen eye while he was in college at ISU, he would have known that 1979 was “more than a decade ago” and not “merely a decade ago.” The reason we at the Daily chose to use the phrase “more than a decade ago” is because the movement to change the name spanned from 1975, when the stadium was opened, to 1984, when the field was given the name Jack Trice Field.

It didn’t simply happen in one year as Lucht implied. And, yes, I checked the archives. The story on naming Jack Trice Field was in the Jan. 18, 1984, issue of the Daily. Lucht went so far as to say, “If Cho is going to pursue a career in journalism, I suggest she concern herself a little more with the facts.”

I know Karen Cho was up on her facts. I suggest that Brad Lucht follow some of his own advice when writing letters criticizing student reporters.

One of the functions of the Daily is a learning environment for these reporters, and although we do make mistakes at times, it is a quality student newspaper which functions as the strongest voice the students have on campus. The Daily, and the media in general, is a lot like the weather. It is taken for granted when it is good and people like to complain about it otherwise.

Reading newspapers is becoming less and less common among the general population due to competition with television. But the most well-informed citizens in society read the newspaper because they know newspapers have the most information on issues.

Due to these factors, newspapers still are the leading agenda setters in the country. In other words, they help determine and shape what issues people talk about more than any other medium.

Television is passive. News is read to the listener. Mistakes in stories are not as easily noticed while viewers are watching the pictures flash by. The pictures themselves sometimes lend to an inaccurate view of a story.

Printed news, on the other hand, is more definitive. It is more permanent and exacting. Printed type also allows for more information. Due to these reasons, newspaper and magazine writers are held to a higher standard by their readers than TV viewers.

Rarely does one see a television station admit the mistakes it made, but newspapers and magazines will print their corrections for their audience.

In order to be a well-informed citizen after graduating from college, students should get in the habit of reading their student newspaper and become informed on issues in their college community that concern them.

So the Daily is not just a learning lab for the student reporters and editors of the Daily, it is a learning opportunity for all students of the campus. But remember, everything you read is not always true.

Often stories attribute ideas, statements, and facts to other sources. This, of course, means these ideas may not be right, but what usually is right is that the people said or wrote them. The reader should read with a keen eye to the written word. It is always easier to study the facts when they are written and review-able, as they are not so easy when seen on television.

Also, remember the process of gathering news in an expedient manner, racing deadlines, getting past secretaries to speak to campus big-wigs, and also attending classes and doing homework is an uneasy, time-consuming process.

The information written in the paper, especially with timely articles, is what could be found during the given schedules of not only the Daily staff but of the people involved in a story or an issue.

Finally, right here, the Opinion Page, gives you, the reader, the chance for input. It is important in a democratic society for you, the citizen, to read what other people in your community say about issues.

No other news medium outside the Internet offers as much of a chance for its audience to participate. The entire Daily is online; so in this way it is one of the most interactive newspapers one can find.

I should remind you, the students, that you own this newspaper. If you feel there is news worthy of being in the paper, do not be afraid to contact the Daily through campus mail, telephone, or stop in at 108 Hamilton Hall and speak to one of the editors.

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Tim Frerking is a senior in journalism mass communication from Pomeroy. He is the university news editor.