Despite the common misconception across campus that Residence Hall Association renamed McAllister Academic Village as part of a conspiracy to humiliate all of its future residents, RHA actually had limited say in the matter.
From what I understood when I attended the hall council meeting in Center Complex last week, RHA was given a list of possible names from the Arizona Board of Regents and a Student Affairs committee, and many members were just as surprised as students by the unconventional choices.
RHA and hall councils did their best to represent the student opinion considering the options they were given. After all, from a list that consists of exceptional options such as Fluffgrass, Jojoba Bush, and Wooly Daisy, what kind of outcome can we really expect?
It is interesting that so many people are willing to complain and blame RHA after the decision is made, but very few made the effort to vote or provide input prior to solidifying the new names.
Rather than telling RHA to "get real," we should be telling students to get involved.
-Jennifer Kitson
Journalism major
A consequential action
The "Ship of Fools" cartoon in The State Press on Monday, depicting the prophet Mohammed, was very tasteless and not something that's wanted within the Muslim community at ASU.
The State Press staff already knew of the backlash that's circulating around the world because of the Danish newspaper's actions against the prophet.
They knew how much Muslims would be offended. The question arises, why would you put out a cartoon that has a large chance of offending a large Muslim community who would have intolerance to such actions when you already know about the backlash that's being spread across the world?
The Muslim community deserves a sincere apology from the Danish government on an international level, and an apology from The State Press on a more local level.
If that doesn't happen, I fear the consequences of the press' unjustified actions against a religion that preaches peace across the world.
-Hayder Alzubaidi
Microbiology major
Radio still has hope
In response to Sara Sturges' Monday column, "Radio killed the Radio Star," now is the winter of our discontent. But there is hope on the horizon.
At the risk of being accused of shameless self-promotion, I host a syndicated indie music radio show called "The Colorado Wave" and "The Tidal Wave," available to listen to online.
Talk about a breath of fresh air!
There are other producers like me who have immersed themselves in presenting a real alternative to the cookie-cutter format, which dominates the airwaves today.
XM Radio absolutely lost its mind about a month ago when they did away with one of their most popular channels, "Unsigned."
This is great news for me however, and I'll just keep pushing the new music to the best of my ability.
-Carmen Allgood
Evergreen, Colorado
If you have an opinion you'd like to make heard, e-mail a letter to the editor. Just type "Letters.Editor" in the subject line and send it to letters.editor@asu.edu.
