To the Editor:? I found your editorial [two weeks ago] on the ASM speaker, Kip Fulbeck, to be a very poor reflection on the Phillipian’s board. In terms of tone, to refer to a speaker in a demeaning way (Kip Full-of-It), showed a lack of respect for him and for journalism, because diction, especially in an editorial, should be formal, unless, of course, you want to turn into a Murdoch publication. How would my criticism be viewed if I referred to you and your colleagues as the Flippant’s editorial board? As for the editorial’s content, its suggestion essentially to bring to the school only speakers who are reasonable, who essentially lack passion or conviction, was ludicrous. I agree with Mr. Fulbeck’s central point which he exhorted to his audience: give a damn about something. In his speech he told the student body what he cared about but did not ask others to join him; instead, he urged them to choose and to embrace a cause larger than themselves. Precisely because he cared so deeply he held his audience in a way that few ASM speakers do—and yet this is what in some measure your editorial condemned. Perhaps as follow up, The Phillipian will publish their version of the mediocrity test that forthcoming reasonable speakers must take in order to pass inspection before they dully address the school. Seth Bardo Instructor in English
