Joe Harris

Letters to the editor are an integral part of a newspaper. They serve a multitude of purposes some of which are to express viewpoints from readers not already shared in this publication, to give readers an outlet on what they think about the content of a newspaper and to show the staff that people actually do read and care about the newspaper's contents.

The Current is no exception. Letters to the editor are treated as carefully as we would treat our own stories and every attempt is made to publish each and every one.

Most of the letters are good. They are well written, express a clear point and display a great deal of thought from their authors. Unfortunately, we also get some not so good letters as was the case this past week.

These letters have no redeeming value whatsoever. Instead of adding thought on a piece or constructively criticizing it, the author instead attacks the staff writer who wrote the piece in question. This asinine behavior not only won't get published, but it hardly ever gets to the writer for which it is intended.

That was the case with this recent letter. We received it on Thursday and it was commenting on a recent opinion we ran in the paper.

The letter disagreed with the opinion, but instead of intelligently arguing its points, proceeded to personally attack the writer. Stooping to such levels along with the comments made in it made me personally sick. It is sad to think that some of the students are as closed-minded and apparently as unintelligent as this author.

It is one thing to disagree with something that is written as long as it is backed with intelligent thoughts. However, resorting to personal attacks is not intelligent, in fact, it is libel. If we were to print some of the things in this letter and from some of the other letters we have received in the past, we would be sued instantly.

This doesn't only apply to newspapers, though. A word of warning for those who get a kick out of writing insults to us: the staff writer for which it is intended can also sue for libel. As long as it is printed, it can be libelous.

All newspapers' opinions and or editorial pages are forums for ideas and viewpoints. It is one of the things that makes this country great. Half of the things written in this paper I personally do not agree with, and as editor-in-chief, I ultimately have the power to censor any viewpoints that I don't like, but I don't do that.

As a child I was taught a saying. It goes: "I disagree with what you are saying, but I'll die for your right to say it." I sincerely believe and live by that. It is just a shame that a just a few refuse to do the same.