Wildcat under no obligation to be ‘politically correct’
We now have a class of people in our society who are trained to become outraged in the way Pavlov’s dogs were trained to salivate, to the point where certain cues -ÿsuch as an ethnic slur evocative of slavery and segregation – evoke the response in an inappropriate context. I would say the group of students outraged by last week’s “”K Chronicles”” cartoon did not understand it, but just as the response of a Pavlov dog to a bell involves no thought or understanding, neither did theirs.

Were I myself prone to outrage, I would be outraged. Instead I am disappointed. I am disappointed to learn that liberal education is dead enough that so many of those not only admitted to but who have taken classes at college exhibit such reactionary tendencies. More still, I am disappointed in the milquetoast-y response of the Daily Wildcat.

The protesters and angry letter writers are not merely expressing their displeasure at a controversial comic, but rather they are making “”demands,”” calling for “”accountability”” and some creepy “”change”” at the Wildcat. It has come so far that today, in a press release sent (perhaps inappropriately) through the CSIL office, one Eshawn-Fonta Peterson (no title or organization given) has called for “”MANDATORY”” sensitivity training for Wildcat staff.

Such a response would make us think we were living in Hugo Chavez’s Venezuela or Mussolini-era Italy. Here in the USA, the appropriate response to undesirable speech is more speech, not castor oil, aggressive talk, demands and veiled threats. If the protesters want to start a new, more censored, “”politically correct”” paper they are free to do so, just as Wildcat advertisers are free to withdraw support. If the Wildcat gives these hypersensitized bullies any attention at all, it should be to remind them of this or to tell them to come back when they grow up. Instead we were treated to obsequious apologies that legitimized both the complaints and the threats.

A free and critical press is a cornerstone of free society. If journalists will not themselves stand against those who would have them think twice about what they print “”or else,”” all of the Institutes for Justice and American Civil Liberties Unions we can muster cannot protect us.

Bennett Kalafut
physics graduate student

Use of ethnic slurs should be discouraged because of hurtfulness
I saw and heard about the comic publication with the use of the “”N-word.”” As a student, I feel that this is very inappropriate to print in a university newspaper.

This is not the first time that such negative expressions have been presented in the Wildcat. There have been stereotyping in past editions toward different groups. I only hope that such expressions be edited out because it does offend and cause harm to groups that are stereotyped and labeled.

Donovan Williams
second year doctoral student

Most Americans immune to reason because of their paucity of knowledge
In regards to columnist Taylor Kessinger’s Nov. 10 article “”Obama presidency requires continued scrutiny,”” I can’t help feeling like the overall message, though valuable, has one key oversight.

This otherwise well-informed piece on how the majority of Americans seem to be blindly supporting the new presidency does not take into account that the majority of Americans are politically uninformed. As such, the sad truth is that any opinion or attitude that the public takes on the president and government is essentially oblivious to reasoning.

Without delving too much into politics, after about six years of blind opposition, maybe blind support is better than nothing at all.

Brandon Singer
biology sophomore

Newspaper shouldn’t be advertising rival university
I understand that running a full-page color ad is expensive and generates a lot of income for the Daily Wildcat. However, a full-page color ad for ASU? Seriously? Some things should just be said no to.

Elizabeth Demar
FSHD senior