Dear Editor,

I am a firm believer in keeping youth informed on the United States’ political situation but not a one-sided liberal approach. In reading the last issue of The Lion’s Roar, I was disturbed. There has never been room in the learning environment for politics. After seeing the political cartoon featuring the “Don’t ask, don’t tell” policy in the most recent issue, I was naive to believe politics were being kept from our educational ambience. Everyone has their own personal beliefs on the country’s political situation; impressing those beliefs upon 15,000 students is in no means appropriate or healthy to the student learning experience. The Lion’s Roar publishing such documents projects the idea that our school condones anti-American views towards our nation’s regulations. This is both rebellious on a public scale and simply un-American. As printing a “Pro Choice”-themed cartoon would be deemed extremely inappropriate in our setting, the pro gay army rights should be carefully re-evaluated. A simple column about the current “Don’t ask, don’t tell” status in Washington would be both informational and appropriate for a school newspaper.

As a student I am appalled and concerned that such a document was accepted for publication in any newspaper. The cartoon featuring deceased U.S. soldiers is offensive to family members who have lost soldiers and family members of active service members. Coming from a military family, it hits close to home. My father has served two overseas tours and is an American hero. To put his fellow soldiers who have given their lives on display in a newspaper to prove a political point is both blasphemous and disrespectful. There are other ways to approach a discussion on this topic.

The use of surveys on a college campus is an extraordinary way to portray how the student body feels about the current situation regarding “Don’t ask don’t tell.” For one person to post such a document in our paper should be an outrage to both parties. Personally, I am furious that my voice seems so small on campus. I’m truly outraged that my thoughts are overridden by an overzealous liberal forcing their opinion over mine and for all to read. That paper is printed to inform students of current events, not to fill with offensive opinions. Formulating a survey on the topic would be a more appropriate route for students to see what their peers think about on the issue.

I do, however, appreciate the attempt to get students in touch with the political sector of their brain. If The Lion’s Roar was to allot a free-thinking column, I believe the effectiveness in getting students involved would be rewarding. Feeding them a biased political cartoon will fail in both their interests and to see eye-to-eye with the producers of the paper.

Politics has always been one of America’s most touchy subjects. It is constantly up for debate and nearly impossible to make any headway with a person of the opposing party. We all have independent views and should remain exclusive to us to not create a disturbance in an educational environment. The reason many schools require their staff to refrain from political discussions is to prevent some kind of student-to-student or student-to-faculty confrontation. This is all politics truly are, a confrontation of opposing ideas.

I worry about things I might see appear in the paper in the future if my warning is not taken into careful consideration. The newspaper is an excellent source of information and should be treated as such. An informational resource should refrain as much as possible from speaking the minds of its composers. Offending readers can be a detrimental route in the continuation of producing a successful paper.

I love to open a paper to read about the current events in my location, country, and the worldly news. The Lion’s Roar does a wonderful job of keeping me updated on the local events and financial situations of our school. There is a time and place for everything. And politics and education simply do not mix. Refraining from publishing another biased political document as posted in the last issue would be greatly appreciated.