Two Cents

by Michele Paquet guest writer

hearts and their lives to each of us. Going to Appalachia was an eyeopening experience since many of the jobs we did were in extreme poverty. I would come home from my job at the end of the day exhausted, both physically and emotionally. I found that these people really did not need someone to rake their yard or wash their window:.. Sometimes all they really needed wa~ someone to sit with them and to be there for them.

r also found that a\ the Cabrini group worked together throughout the week. I found I was not going through this experience alone. I always knew that I had 10 other people who knew what I was going through. I always knew that I had a shoulder to lean or cry on if I needed one. Through the toughest times a smile or a squeeze of the hand might be all you need to make you feel IO times better.

The most amazing thing I found in Appalachia is that they made do with what they had. Does it really matter that you do not have the best VCR or the Internet, when you have wonderful neighbors you could visit and spend time with. just talking? Another thing I have learned is that you should always look on the bright side of lile. (The sky is blue.) When it seems that your life might be falling apart. it might be hard. But in order to survive in West Virginia, you have to remain positive or you will end up driving yourself crazy.

An experience like Project Appalachia makes you appreciate the things you have. your family and friends, a house to live in and the good health the Lord has given you. These are just some things we aut~ matically take advantage of while others do not have such luxurie5. We abo have to remember these problems areoccurring very close to home. It is not in another country, it is right here in the United States! The only thing I regret is that I waited until my junior year to experience Project Appalachia. If you would like to do some community service for an area that desperately needs a lot of help, you should try to take part in Project Appalachia. I promise you it will be an experience you will never forget.

LETT E R TO T H E E D I TO R· Critical eye notes a positive angle

In response to the criticism you received for printing an anti-IRS. anti-Semitic letter in your Feb. 20 issue, I am writing to urge you not to retreat from a journalist's duty to present readers with a broad spectrum of information, even if readers don't always like. or agree with, what they see. Furthermore, I want to congratulate you on your Feb. 27 editorial in response to that criticism. It is reasoned, reflective, and sensitive.

Yes, the letter was offensive. I heartily endorse my colleagues' criticism of it. However, I, for one, did not for one moment think you should not have published it. It was clear you were not endorsing its opinions. It was clearly marked as a letter to the editor and nothing remotely like its views could be

II youcouldspendanevening withanyoneoftheopposite sex,whowould it beandwhy?

Diane Soto. a first-year student: Bill Gates. he is so young and rich. I want to see what a man like that does on a night out.

Mike McCauliffe, a first-year student: Melissa Posse and Erica Philo because they are so fresh and exciting.

Erica Philo, a first-year student: Jim Carroll, the author of "Basketball Diaries." He is so smart. I think he \\-Ould be really interesting and fun. I love his poetry.

Miguel Williams, a first-year student: Jenn McGowan, she has one of the best bodies I have ever seen. She has toned legs, blond hair and she is a white girl!

found or has been found anywhere else in the paper.

When r read it, I thought, "My God, sickos like this really do exist.'' I had heard of such twisted people, but fortunately, I haven't actually run into any. Your publication of the letter. in my opinion, performed a public service by letting me-letting all of us-know that people with such un-Christian and hateful opinions really do exist, and that we ought not to be complacent about our society.

Printing that letter was, in my opinion, like throwing cold water in my face, saying, "Wake up! Dangerous opinions are really out there!" Perhaps I should have said the letter was like a pie in the face, because its absurdity was pretty funny too, but its statements shouldn't have been laughed off. Look at history!

Thus, r urge you not to bow to pressures that would have you present a sanitized view of our society. A paper has a duty to make its own editorial views clear, and I hope yours will always be on the side of right, reason and charity. But I also hope you will continue to present contrary, even dangerous, views in order to promote intellectual debates such as this one. Vigorous, free debate is the foundation of our society, and, over time, has been a powerful way to determine and reinforce universal values. Offensive a~ the letter was, printing it was a service and a wake-up call. to our insulated little community.

Marice Bezdek

Abbe Foreman. a junior: Chris Lomanno because he embodies the inner power of knowledge and he laughs when I snort.

Joe Uff, a sophomore: Jenn McGowan because she is my boss at work and I see her everyday doing her track workouts and it turns me on!