In an effort to stick to our motto as being a voice of the Northern State University student body, Student Publications has chosen to forego the Our Voice for this issue in favor of printing the letters to the Editor we received following the error in the last paper. We would like to thank all those who submitted their comments.

Editorial Board

I would just like to express my feelings regarding the latest edition of the Exponent.  I was extremely surprised by the content of some of the articles in this issue.  I would assume that a University newspaper would work at being high quality and respectable.  When the articles begin to use vulgar language, such as that found in "Things that Piss Me Off" and "Pick-up Lines," students and staff quickly lose respect for the paper.  It is also difficult to have respect for a news source that has little regard for the conventions of writing.

In the previous issue of The Exponent, an editorial article appeared that criticized the student body for its criticsm of the paper.  It also said that those who criticize should take action by joining the Exponent staff.  It would be difficult for most individuals to want to join the staff of an organization with such a poor reputation. 

This reputation is also being expressed to the general public when the paper is given to alumni and prospective students of our University.   Is a paper like the most recent issue really something the staff would feel comfortable distributing?  Does this issue really show the pride and talent of our student body at Northern?

Junior Monica Larson
Mitchell, S.D.

I just wanted to voice my concern with the issue of the exponent that came out this week. A good pick-up line to get a date is using the "F" word???? The other lines were inappropriate also but I was very offended by that word being in an issue. My husband and I are both graduates of NSU and I had  children that went to NSU. We are saddened to think that a newspaper of higher education would print such trash. In this world where we are trying to raise children to be moral, responsible adults it is very disheartening to see articles such as this. Even my 19 year old daughter who goes to NSU now thought that article was very inappropriate.

Tracy Jurgens
School of Fine Arts

I am surprised and disappointed by the content of “pickup lines for the occasion” in the Feb. 4, 2004 issue. Being a university publication, I would think that the Exponent would hold its writers and/or editors to a certain standard. I was not personally offended by the language, per se. Anyone who knows me realizes that I have been known to use profanity on occasion; but never in a professional situation. It’s very true that we’re all adults here and we’ve all heard the occasional cuss-word slip out in lecture, but I think this is very different. As adults at an institution of higher learning I think we can appreciate humor without resorting to crass, low-brow locker room talk such as the article in question. It can hardly be regarded as respectable or professional. But perhaps that wasn’t the intent.

Over the past couple years I have been increasingly disappointed by things I’ve seen in the Exponent, but I think this most recent stunt has ruined it for me. As I said before, I was not personally offended by the profanity itself, but I was disappointed by the childishness and trashiness of this article and the poor decision to run it using the language it did. I regret to say that I feel I can no longer take this publication seriously.

Tony L. Kollman
Aberdeen

Due to computer malfunction and human error, portions of the Feb. 4 edition of The Exponent contained offensive items. This was an accident and will be guarded against in the future. Thank you to those who submitted their comments. Student Publications Editorial Board would like to apologize for the error. Please feel free to contact us in our office by phone or email.

Sincerely,
The Student Publications Editorial Board 605-626-2534 stupub@northern.edu