To the Editor:

I would like to respond to a letter written by Ken Toft that appeared in the September 1 issue of the Daily.

Mr. Toft describes the horror he went through upon discovering the results of a questionnaire conducted by the ethos staff in April of 1995.

I would first like to comment that he referred to it as a “poll,” when in fact it was a questionnaire. He goes on to explain that he believes the results of the Best Punk Band category to be biased.

May I remind him that the questionnaire was open to anyone. There were 4000 questionnaires initially printed and available in the issues on campus. To my dismay, there were a little over 100 surveys returned to ethos Magazine.

I alerted the readers of the unscientific nature of the survey in the introduction of “The Best of Ames and Iowa State.” Mr. Toft wrote that he did not feel that the story was a good representation of the best of Ames and Iowa State. He based this on the results of one category.

The winner of the Best Punk Band was determined by the amount of questionnaires turned in, and it just so happens his band of choice did not win. I might suggest that if he would have filled out a questionnaire himself, his opinion would have been recorded and could possibly have made a difference in the results.

This is a good example of why people should exercise their right to vote. The notion that one person’s vote does not make a difference is one that is widely practiced and in need of extinction.

Mr. Toft, or anyone else who has concern in this matter, I personally invite you to visit my office in 16C Hamilton Hall to verify the results of the survey.

Jen R. Schroeder

Editor-in-Chief

ethos Magazine