Newspapers / St. Andrews University Student … / March 9, 1990, edition 1 / Page 2
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March 9, 1990 Paae 2 OPINION Editor’s Desk Michael Roberts On Hosstyle Since the letter from the Mecklenburg community responding to Pat Hoss' article appeared in the last issue of the Lance, I have been asked for a reaction to the situation. My position has been that Hoss made some comments that were not taken lightly by Meek; they responded in what I consider an appropriate and justified manner. Now there is a letter, accompanied by a petition of sorts, outside of SAGA encouraging students to call for the dismissal of Pat Hoss. I say, for the record, this will not happen. I may not agree with Patt Hoss' opinion, or with the manner in which he expresses it, but 1 inisist that there is a principle involved here which is much more im portant. First of all, the right to express one's opinion is a right which is protected, respected and unequivocal. The fact that one may be offended by, or in disagreement with, the expressed opinion does not in any way sus pend or amend that basic right. Secondly, some have stated that Mr. Hoss degrades the school by pointing out flaws or overstating issues. Some have said that he should not criticize St. An drews. As I see it, Pat Hoss often runs the same line that has been heard on this campus for years. The opinions that Pat has expressed about SAGA, and Meek, and campus policy are not dissimilar from the same remarks one may hear at any given moment on this campus. It is my feeling that some fear that having these opinions appear in print in some way gives these criticisms some legitimacy. Concerning the letter and petition, I can say this: Pat Hoss has his name on his column and stands firmly by his position. I noticed the author(s) of the letter choose to remain anonymous. This is their priviledge. A copy of the letter, sent to me, appears in this issue of the Lance. This is because I, in no way, support the kind of censorship they propose. An interesting thought occured to me while reading the names on the petition. One particular student not only signed it, but wrote a little paragraph on the bottom further clarifying her position. I find this interesting because this student has been in several of my classes andseems to have an unlimited number of grievances with living in the United States. She has very defined gripes, and vehemently defends her right to express her displeasure. I ask, "Is there a distinguishable difference here?" And I will say this,"Pat Hoss may be a jerk, but he is no hypocrite." Lastly, I wish to say that not reading Hosstyle is entirely the privledge of each individual student. If it offends you, "him the channel" so to speak. And I believe that his column has shown some members of the student body what they really care about. This of course is only my opinion. Dissenting opin ion and reader comment is welcome. Letters to the Editor Concerned Readers Voice Concern Dear Editor, We are sick and tired of Pat Hoss's sorry excuse for a col umn. He is derogatory, sar castic, and he is not even close to being funny. We cannot understand why the Lance permits his unpleasant column to appear. Why must we be subjected week after week to his inept and inap propriate column? We feel that the space tthat the Lance reserves for "Hosstyle" could be used in a more useful and constructive way. His col umn is in no way helpful, in formative, or enlightening. It is obvious that Pat is a very angry individual. Pat Hoss's unwarranted remarks against Mecklen- berg dormitory were unkind and unfair. He offers no suggestions on how to im prove upon the many faults of St. Andrews that he harps on in every column. His nasty. antagonistic remarks about St. Andrews do much harm and no good. Pat Hoss's column is indeed hostile. His writings dampen our school spirit and lower our morale. Pat Hoss's column, "Hosstyle" has no style and should be dropped from the Lance. Concerned Readers of the Lance Bayes Responds to Letters Dear Editor, For the past two days in a row I have received ANONYMOUS and un signed letters under my office door asking me to help get Pat Hoss' column purged from the Lance. These anonymous letters- themselves ungrammatical and poorly styled—puzzle me. I do not always like or agree with Mr. Hoss' col umns. That is what col- umns-SIGNED COL UMNS—are for—to stimu late consideration-and to be disliked as well as liked, disagreed with as well as agreed with. It is what democracy and freedom of the press is all about. I hope that the college paper will liven itself up with more columns, not less. If anything, self-satisfaction is the greatest danger of the body politic—any place, any time. Undercover censor ship is even more to be feared than its ugly cousin, direct censorship. I am con stantly aware of this and on guard against it as a member of the North Carolina Arts Council. Besides, "it's a terrible death to be bored to death" as Mark Twain pointed out. Ron Bayes Distinguished Professor of Writing Editor's Note: Due to the circumstances surrounding the subject matter, an edito rial decision was made to run the letter from "Concerned Readers"although it was unsigned. It is the policy of the Lance, however, to only print letters which are signed, and to grant anonymity when re quested. Michael Roberts
St. Andrews University Student Newspaper
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