Forgive me if I’m assuming too much, but I suspect the conventional Ithacan reader, like me, has a certain expectation of what will be awaiting us each Thursday on the opinion pages of our favorite campus newspaper. Insightful commentary? Sure. Witty narration? Why not? Hard hitting news ripe with “editorial rigor?” Umm … not so much.

I found myself surprised and distraught upon reading “Column doesn’t speak for students” in the Dec. 3 edition of The Ithacan. The critique is disparaging, radical and unwarranted to say the least. Miss Miller is an Ithaca College student, and her experiences are therefore those of an IC student. Denouncing her column as a fraudulent representation of student life is missing the point that she is, in fact, a student. Her comical renditions of the trials and tribulations of a first-year student are a perfect addition to a college newspaper.

Instead of evaluating the nuances of every opinion column, why not stop and have a laugh or two? College is about experiences and lessons learned, many of which happen to be ridiculous and hilarious. If we take everything too seriously, we’ll never get out alive. Mr. Comegys, next time you feel the need to overanalyze and criticize a piece on journalistic principles, make sure you understand the context and concept in which it was written. A column in the Opinion section is just that — an opinion.

Jeff Goodwin ’10
SGA President