A Clarification

[Ed. note: Although I realize that it is not entirely appropriate to respond to a letter to the editor in the same issue that the letter appears, I feel that a grave misunderstanding has occurred and do not wish an entire week to pass before I can clear the air. Please pardon this slip of newspaper etiquette in respect for the larger good of divining the truth.]
Over the past three years, Newspeak has taken me from soccer games to faculty meetings, from guest lecturers to every hour of traffic counts to close West St., but I see no need to respond to personal attacks. I have no intention of showing disrespect to the members of SGA, if I felt they were incapable of keeping their promises, I would not try to hold them to their word. One story I did last winter, at the request of SGA, was to cover an appropriate debate of SGA officers. They presented good ideas to get the message of the student government to the student body. I was eager to see this done, as most students were at least partially ignorant of what SGA does for them.

When D-term started, I asked when these things would be carried out (assigning senators to students and more contact between senators and the student body). I was told to wait until the fall. I waited, silently, until a few weeks ago. I tried, in these pages, to remind the officers of their promises, little was done. Believe me, I keep my eyes open for these things, besides SGA office hours and recent posters from Amy Plack, there is still little being done.

If no one picked up copies of Newspeak, I would worry. If no one knows much about SGA, perhaps I am not out of line to say that you should worry. From what I have seen, SGA is composed of a good number of high-achieving, hard-working people. Your enthusiasm for WPI is tremendous, I would recommend that any student should join the government, or at least find out more about its workings.

I do not feel out-of-line inviting SGA to report on its own activities, as the attention will be positive for the organization. I believe that many politicians try to handle their own publicity (correct me if I'm wrong here). I also believe that public figures who speak in open meetings and debates may be quoted. No U.S. House member would say "Let's raise taxes, hell we are the government," without serious forethought.

My point is that I do not want to start a war of words. All I ever wanted was to see more publicity and contact on the part of SGA. I thought that you were up to the task, I still do. If you didn't mean what you said, that's too bad and you should have chosen your words more carefully. We all have to live with the consequences of our actions and think clearly before we speak. To not do so is to risk being called to task.

Brian Parker

Newspeak Editor-in-Chief



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