Letter to the Editors

This letter was written in response to Amanda Seebaugh's column that appeared in the October 18, 2007 print issue of The Pharos. Due to space constraints, this letter was not published in the print version.

Dear Editors:
This is in response to Amanda Seebaugh’s column in the Pharos on Oct 18^th.

When we read the article, we were hurt not only because we felt like people were singled out, but also because we felt like it was us, as fellow human beings, that were causing her to feel silenced. In response to the article, a dialogue took place on campus that Amanda took part in. We got to speak with her and how her article affected some of her readers.

We value that everyone has a voice and we strongly believe that everyone deserves to be heard. However when we do vocalize what we feel, we believe that there is an obligation to make sure what we’re saying is clear.

There were a few points in the column that we wanted to recognize. First, she said that she felt like she was being persecuted in several different ways including her religious beliefs and her moral standing. The problem that we found was that in response to this persecution she then singled out another group that then felt persecuted. This, we feel, doesn’t solve anything and may have even deepened the rift in communication that could have remedied the situation.

Secondly, she makes a point that she’s afraid of offending people for what she has to say. What we could do, instead of constantly remaining silent, is to recognize why these thoughts are offending people, to take a moment to see things from another person’s perspective. This doesn’t mean that you can’t say what you feel, but that you should be contentious of others and their feelings when you’re speaking.

We realize that if this article wasn’t written, we would have no idea how this one person felt, and if you don’t speak up about what you feel, no one will know what you feel either. In addition, it’s also important to listen to what others are saying and not be afraid to disagree with them. You may disagree, and that’s not a bad thing, we need to learn how to talk to one another, and this is where we can start.

So now that we’ve learned that there’s prejudice on campus, let’s talk about it.

--Jennifer Jones and Jess Barkley