Response to Letters to the Editor: In Response to Issue 6

[information]Read the three letters at the following links: Eric Moser, Elizabeth Van Arsdale, and Daniel Garner.[/information]

Dear Readers,

First, we wish to thank you for your responses to our paper and encourage all students to participate within our publication by writing a letter to the editor. As an open forum, we intend to allow all Rollins students and faculty the platform to voice their opinions regarding Rollins or our publication specifically.

I do not believe that The Sandspur is without fault. Like all publications, we attempt to tackle controversial issues in a unique and timely manner, and we accomplish this goal to the best of our abilities. Our student writers are all learning to balance their written voice with the journalistic tone we strive for. In regards to the article “All Closet Doors Open,” the author utilized his strong voice and sardonic tone to tackle the topic of what it is like to be a gay student within the Rollins day school. Our editors were extremely proud of his ability to present such a multifaceted topic in an accesible manner. We continue to stand behind this author, as a strong editorial board should, and have even encouraged him to begin writing a weekly column for our publication.

In regards to the cover art for issue six, we attempted to convey an idea of comfort for gay men on this campus. Our editorial board established the inital concept and forwarded this to our talented illustrator. The artwork utilizes a stereotype of gay men in order for the viewer to quickly and coherently understand the concept. Our intentions were not to offend but to incite the viewer to pick up our paper and read. And as these responses indicate, we were successful in accomplishing this mission. As you state in your letter Daniel, you are not a regular reader of our paper; however, you chose to read this issue because of the controversial cover art. This is indicative of a victory for our publication, and we hope you continue to read our newspaper.

In your requests for a form of apology from our staff, I must politely refuse. The Sandspur continues as an expression of the Rollins student body; we are controversial, intelligent, and creative–everything a liberal arts student should be. And from these attributes we gain the strength necessary to stand behind our newspaper with unapologetic pride.

David Matteson
Production Manager