Gauntlet misconstrued

By Matt Burgener

Editors, the Gauntlet

Re: “Gauntlet worse then Hitler,”

Letter, Sept. 30, 1999.

I would personally like to thank J. Svendson for his/her letter of last week.

S/he did what I have always wanted to do, and lambasted the Gauntlet for what it is: a crap-ass student newspaper. I have been wondering why I never managed to compose my attack against the Gauntlet, but Svendson’s letter has opened my eyes. Along with countless other frustrated U of C-ers, I have a dream of a bias-free and intellectually stimulating weekly paper. I naively long to see the students of our school rising together to compose ground breaking treatises in every discipline that is offered at the university. I am also a pretty regular reader of the Gauntlet, and maybe the only thing it has taught me since our relationship began is that you don’t improve the quality of a publication through vague and general criticisms. Student Svendson says s/he is hoping for change, well to that I say quit your selfish bitching and stimulate me. You criticize the Gauntlet for threatening your indigenous freedom while you sit and stay your pen. Well here’s a hot tip for you, apathy is the enemy of democracy, not the TLFs. The general frustration you display in your letter suggests to me that there is surely enough wrong with this paper for you to write a critical analysis of a particular topic, rather than a senseless blab. So let’s see it. You want to whine about how bad this paper sucks, well you pay for it and now you are in it so I guess that means you suck too. And you know what else, I suck too, because in the six years since I started complaining about the poor quality of the writing in this paper, I’ve written exactly two music reviews and counting this senseless tirade, three letters.

So come on you yellow bellied, potty mouthed back seat driver, if you think this paper is really killing kids, for the love of God save a child each week and become a regular contributor. Otherwise keep holding your breath and give us a break.