The Silent Majority

To the Editor:

If we're venting about Stern life, I'll jump in. Do you know what really gets me? Girls (like Debbie Shofet) who are so superficial that they assume that any girl with a ring on her finger is an idiot. Surprisingly, a large percentage of Stern girls do NOT stand in the cafeteria passing out flyers for ring designers and bridesmaid's gowns. Most of us are too busy juggling our jewelry and Macy's bags to think straight. And while we do get some funny stories regarding varying degrees of idiocy, most do not involve a girl in a headband. I'm already telling the one about the girl who thinks Jackie Chan is a genius.

Yes, we do have our share of the academically-challenged students. But the silent majority are educated adults who know the difference between Beethoven and David Helfgott, and don't feel the need to wave their hands in the air and yell, "Look at me, I'm smart." And if the movie tickets go up to $15 - no matter, we'll just hock our engagement rings.

Oh, and my jaw moves when I speak, Judy.

Tova Katz

SCW '99

Lack of Decency and Professionalism

To the Editors:

I appreciate Mordecai Luchins' letter in the last issue of The Commentator. To quote a point from his letter: "The YU paper is supposed to be a newspaper, not the platform from which to hurl invectives." I fully agree. But Mr. Luchins needs to be corrected regarding one important point: he criticizes "YU's" paper when, I'm sure, he only means to criticize "YC's" paper. Let's not forget that Yeshiva University has two undergraduate newspapers, one of which, namely the Stern College Observer, makes it its business to report news, not to "hurl invectives."

Stern students were the target of invectives in the column "Stern Life" from your last issue. The column was obviously written to offend, both in its message and crude language. "Freedom of the Press" might be the "higher value" you ascribe to, but it would be wise to consider the roles of decency and professionalism in journalism as well.

Deborah S. Roth

SCW '99

The author is a staff member of The Observer.

Editors' Note: The Commentator seeks to present a diverse array of student views in its Forum section columns. This is the "higher value" to which we subscribe when selecting opinion submissions for publication. If Ms. Roth finds "invective" in the encounter with views at variance with her own, we imagine she leads quite a besieged existence.

We are puzzled by Ms. Roth's intimation that The Commentator is not concerned to present news. More puzzling is Ms. Roth's suggestion that The Observer "makes it its business to report news." Perhaps ignoring an employee strike at AECOM, a student protest at Cardozo, and a computer network shortcoming (please refer to previous Commentator front page) in a single news cycle is what Ms. Roth envisions as her newspaper's charge.

Broadly, it is our view that the exercise of journalistic responsibility of necessity entails furnishing students with an honest account of the Yeshiva experience rather than a bland rehashing of public relations press releases. While we recognize that unblinkingly bearing the truth is not always popular with those who would prefer not to confront it, we are patently unwilling to depart from our principled approach. Perhaps in this commitment we differ from The Observer.

Observation for the Observer

To the Editor:

Regarding the Stern Life piece by Debbie Shofet, I have to ask what its place is in The Commentator. I don't think there is anything wrong with the content. It is well versed, true and to the point. My question is, why didn't she submit it to the Observer?

It seems that Ms. Shofet feels that the stereotype of many Stern girls is partially true. Personally I don't think the stereotypes are completely accurate, but I do tend to take to her side.

Simon B. Landsberg

YC '02