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LETTERS r.o. box 1027. Athens, ga sogos
WELL F©R CURlSiAKES,
ft0B-*Y0U KNOW TUE
liberal media al
ways DISTORT THE
FACTS*
IT SAYS MERE
THAT MOST
AMERICANS
ARE REALLY
TlREO OF
THE MONICA
LEWINSKY
SCANDAL.
= TRY THINKING FoR
You#SELF soMETiME,
WRY DON'TCHA?
GLAD To
HEAR IT
Go Somewhere l\ice For A Change.
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Serving wine, beer, top-shelf liquor, and gourmet cheese.
SUCK NO. f
In response to your “College is for
Suckers" piece [Sept. 2], Ted Rail’s premise
that the value of a college degree isn’t what
is used to be and was probably never what it
was supposed to be in the first place is hard
to dispute. However, his conclusion that col
lege attendance is therefore worthless
seems a bit far-fetched. Contrary to what
Rail and Flagpole might believe, not all col
lege students fit the imagt that one might get
from reading a UGA yearbook or The Red
and Black. Some of us have grandiose ambi
tions of subverting “The System" from the
in~ide.
Common sense dictates that society’s
truly progressive and effective dissidents are
those that have won the respect of the
Establishment. A college degree is still a nec
essary component of convincing many peo
ple that your ideas are worth hearing. How
many people do you think would care what
Noam Chomsky or Ira Glasser had to say if
thev were members of some third-rate indie
rock band? The mainstream media almost
always introduces Chomsky as a Harvard
graduate, and thus narrow-minded, assump
tion-infected Americans are considerably
more likely to take him seriously, and he is
not doomed to a life of preaching to the con
verted. The rules of the system aren’t fair,
but bitching about them won’t change a
damn thing. Mock our ambition if you like,
but if you imagine us all to be letter-sweater
sporting, Promise-believing, Daddy’s-credit-
card dependent morons, the joke is most
definitely on you.
Since Flagpole seems so amused with this
stereotype of college students, I’ve got
another one for you. Flagpole is the journal
of, by, and for unambitious townie losers
who have somehow convinced themselves
that there is something profoundly subver
sive about selling tacos and coffee and whin
ing about “corporate America” and their
lame music scene. Until you guys direct
some of your enthusiasm for microbrews
and your own imagined “integrity" into figur
ing out why you are jealous and bitter
enough to title your articles things like
“College is for Suckers " you are unlikely to
accomplish anything worth writing about.
How’d ya like them apples?
Steven McCraw
SUCK NO. 2
It troubles me that Ted Rail feels that he
has nothing to show for the grossly over
priced education which put him (or did not
put him as the case may be) where he is
today. Perhaps that is why he is such a bitter
individual with skewed views on the value of
a college education. 1 wish to congratulate
him on his “impressive string of D’s and Fs"
THIS HWiM VMM
by TOM TOMORROW
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IT SAYS HERE THAT THOSE
REPORTS OF CIA DRUG DEAL
IN6 WERE, COMPLETELY
WRONG'.
which he received and propose that maybe
if he had kept up with his three-job^at-a-time
work ethic, he mignt have gotten something
out of college.
Rail stated that the advantages of a col
lege degree are slight compared to the cost
of tuition and fees. Being from New York City,
we can not blame him for his ignorance in
appealing to an audience in a town where
the better part of the student body attends
the University for free thanks to the HOPE
scholarship. Therefore, the only person that
seems to have been suckered by exorbitant
tuition costs is Rail himself.
• In addition, I was frightened to find that
the society which produced such a fine
writer as Rail actually selected who would
go on to college. We should all consider our
selves lucky that we don’t live with Big
Brother watching over us as did Rail when
he was an aspiring Ivy Leaguer.
I must agree that a. certain number of
brain dead zombies are able to graduate
from college these days as Rail stated.
Hopefully this trend can be reversed and
co'lege students can learn more than the
standard sex, booze, and power-napping,
the arts of which Rail became skilled in
while still a strapping young lad at
Columbia University. I would like to thank
Ted Rail for challenging us all with his
unique and refreshing points of view and
assure him that there are a few college stu
dents left these days that still desire to tap
from the keg of knowledge which college
has to offer.
David Parker
Athens
TO Ft RESPONSE TO A
TOM
Re: Funke Sangodeyi's response [Sept. 2]
to David Fairbaim’s and Steve Fitzpatrick’s
letters [August 12 and August 26]:
1) I did read your article, but it was real
ly a small part of what I referred to in my
letter. I didn’t misrepresent much of any
thing in your letter because it only mat
tered in the context of my response to Mr.
Fairbairn’s letter. My letter was an
overview of what I generally, and correctly,
perceive exists as far as writing in the
Flagpole and in rock “journalism" in gener
al: overemotional, non-objective, negative
whining about what the writer wants to
hear. With the amount of expletives and
insults you throw around, I would say you
are guilty of all of the above.
2) “This glimpse of Czechoslovakian
rock was truly disappointing. Slut was a
reminder of the Americanized flipside of
Eastern Europe’s eerie, ironic cool hockey
haircuts and acid-wash jean jackets.” This
is what you capped off your article with,
and, you now must know that this is refer
ring to fashion, whether you like it or not.
You did mention a lot about MTV in it,
though, but, once again, your article was
only a minor consideration in my letter.
I will note here that you throw out the
first of your insults, referring to me and Mr.
Fairbaim as, “slow-witted.” You are truly a
product of this mean-spirited culture that
we live in Ms. Sangodeyi and 1, personally,
will not stoop to your level. Let me say
this, though: I’ll match you in wits any day,
because your writings are not in the least
impressive to me.
3) You gave your opinion of “heavy
alternarock" und it’s “crap." 4) You obvi
ously don’t like Mr. Falrbairn's band,
Michael. 5) Once again I’m referring to a
general negativity in writing and thought in
general that I see in the world around me.
It’s too bad that you took it so personally
and out of context. Also here you write-out
the word “bullshit," and refer to me and Mr.
Fairbairn as “boys,” why you do this, I
don’t know. I do know that your inexplica
ble and over-emotional comments are com
pletely out-of-line. Please try to see the big
ger picture because, if you are so “serious"
about music, you must understand that
music itself is bigger than you, me and all
of us put-together. Also, I would thank you
to keep your negative, insulting comments
to yourself until you’ve had time to think
through them rationally, especially those
concerning me! I made no personal attack
on you whatsoever in my letter and your
attacks on me (and Mr. Fairbairn) show an
amazing lack of credibility. You aren’t
impressing anybody other than the other
ethically-impaired, over-emotional mem
bers of this shattered civilization; yours is
only a symptom what’s wrong in the world
around us.
S. Fitzpatrick
Athens
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CONTACT FLAGPOLE
Write to FLAGPOLE at LETTERS, P. 0. Box 1027, Athens, 6A 30603; or via the Internet at
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E3 FLAGPOLE SEPTEMBER 16, 199S