Dear Editor,

The letter from Tracy Johnson on Friday (“Reader doesn’t see humor in hurricane”) illustrated an important point: Kent State students do not know how to read. Remember that quiz teachers would give us in junior and senior high school? You had to read the directions and answer the questions, but most students never read the directions, they just jumped to the answering part. The catch was, of course, that the directions told you to just answer the last question of the quiz.

I don’t believe Ms. Johnson read the headline of the column which indicated, in bold letters no less, that it was a satire. Her failure to read, or perhaps understand, resulted in a letter that was unnecessarily angry. Students like her are the reason that the Stater had to stop doing the Monthly Kent Satire page last semester, a page which I enjoyed a lot.

As a member of the gay community, I would like to state that I was neither offended nor shocked by the editorial in question. It made me glad to see that the Stater was in fact showing some support for the gay community by making fun of the outrageous arguments that many reactionary anti-gay groups use. It also entertained me which was, I believe, the point.

So Ms. Johnson, relax, sit back, read the headlines and laugh a little.

Emily Costa

Sophomore anthropology major

Dear Editor:

I read the Forum page of the Daily Kent Stater every day. I must admit that 90 percent is sheer filth, and nearly every day I leave the experience frustrated, disappointed or angry. This page has wonderful potential as a forum for cultural debate, yet it is consistently filled with mundane “political” debates.

“Right” and “left” do not inherently exist. Most of us use these terms without really knowing where they came from. They function only to keep us squabbling rather than building a better collective life for ourselves. I’m sick of hearing about what old man Washington is doing to improve or damage the human condition. That responsibility is up to us as individuals within our community.

You are your own representative. The goal of politicians, despite their grandiose people-saving linguistics, is ultimately self-advancement. We know their names, but they do not know ours. This could not have been more apparent than in the first few days after Hurricane Katrina. Let’s take care of the people. Let’s get health care to the needy.

We have power as individuals and small communities, so let’s support each other and take back what corporate business, media and advertising have stolen: our lives as participatory beings.

Maria Jenkins

Senior fine arts major