Letters to the Editor

Author: [no author name found]

To the Editor:

I would like to send a letter of praise for the weekly music review column "Blowin' Indie Wind." It is consistently the most hilarious section of the entire paper. Never before have I seen such a brilliant lampoon of snobby, elitist, super-intellectual independent music writing. Everything from the positive review of a 40-year-old album to showing the reviewer's mainstream tastes to the weekly trashing of "The O.C." leaves me rolling on the floor and gripping my sides in laughter. Mr. Lawless clearly has his fingers pressed to the beating pulse of modern satire. Keep up the good work!

Sincerely,

Benjamin Golze '06



To the Editor:

Much is in a name. Ours, Vermonters for Safe Hunting and Wildlife Diversity, says we are Vermonters. This means we live here and pay our taxes and that is all that is necessary for us to be eligible to express our opinion.Our name says we are for safe hunting, not against hunting, not against coyote hunting, but instead, for hunting that is responsible and overseen by the Fish and Wildlife Department. Specifically, we ask that the oversight take the following form: first, establish a coyote season with bag limits; second, prohibit the use of dogs in the hunting of coyotes; third, ban any lottery or bounty hunting of animals; and finally, confine all hunting to daylight hours.

Our name also says we are proponents of wildlife diversity. That means we believe no species deserves to be vilified, or made a pariah as the current lack of regulation of coyote hunting implies and encourages. Most who read this letter will realize this is not a radical agenda. What we want is who we are, not how others try to paint us.

Sincerely,

Vermonters for Safe Hunting and Wildlife Diversity



To the Editor:

In response to J.S. Woodward's submission, I would like to challenge the point that recruiters who cannot abide by the College's non-discrimination policy be barred from campus. We should welcome opportunities to inform the College community about discriminatory practices that are going on in this country and abroad. You can bet the Marines wouldn't have spoken at Middlebury if they didn't have the opportunity to recruit here, and in the end, the meeting turned out to bolster support against the policy and inform the uninformed. Controversy incites dialogue. Let's not forget that without that dialogue, Middlebury students might unwittingly join a discriminatory group without fully realizing the gravity of the practice because discriminators are rarely forthcoming when not forced to be. Though Mr. Woodward and I agree that the "Don't Ask, Don't Tell Policy" is abhorrent and poorly reasoned at best, I believe that the presence of unpopular views, even those that go against this institution's principles, is a healthy way to inform and engage the community.

Sincerely,

Jason Siegel '06