This letter is in reply to Dave Duschene’s column on Nov. 4. In his column, Duschene found it appropriate to compare the Student Association Senate to The Northern Star. He seemed to say that no one working for the Star would drink alcohol before doing his job, while S.A. senators would. His column was haughty and self-righteous.

Mr. Duschene should have thought twice before putting the Star on a pedestal.

On Oct. 15, I took a tour of the Star’s facilities—led by Dan Moran—in connection with a program for honors students. During this tour, Moran acknowledged that one of the Star’s employees had been drinking. Moran even instructed the employee not to breathe on us.

After submitting another version of this letter to the Star, I received a phone call from Moran. He said the employee was not working at the time.

I do not think this man’s job would have been affected by his drinking that night, nor do I think the business conducted by the Senate was affected. However, the Star chose to blow the event way out of proportion.

It seems as if the Star thinks it must exaggerate and sensationalize to keep its readers interested, much like the “National Enquirer.” The illustration accompanying Duschene’s column showed a drunken senator falling on the table. Was that really the case—or is it another fact that “inquiring minds want to know?”

In the following quotation from Duschene’s column, I believe the Star is interchangeable with the S.A.: “It could be some time before the (Star) regains credibility in my eyes. And I think I could safely assume there are others out there who would agree with me on that point.”

Julie Genz

journalism