This letter is written to you in order to change the way African-Americans are covered and portrayed. We are appalled and deeply disturbed by the tiny pictorial of Bev Smith in the Feb. 3 edition of The Daily Collegian. What's more appalling is that she did not get the coverage she surely deserves.

Ms. Smith is a prominent figure in the African-American community and since this is Black history month we feel that such prominent African-Americans should receive the proper coverage which they are due. Your negligence of giving her proper coverage is an example of how biased your coverage is of African-Americans.

What's more disturbing is that on the front page of the same edition you had a huge pictorial of a man pulling a reindeer. Not to mention in a past edition of the Collegian you had a a big picture of Barry Williams doing stupid renditions of hippie material on the front page. If that is news then you need a refresher course in journalism and what is newsworthy.

This isn't an issue about having Bev Smith's picture on the front page, this is an issue about proper coverage of African-Americans in the media. After all Ms. Smith is worthy of being on the front page of any newspaper. And since she is a fellow journalist she is automatically due the proper respect and treatment from the Penn State media.

Your paper fails to give African-Americans and African-American students our proper coverage unless we are athletes or run into trouble with the law. We want the media to give us respect and show the other side of the coin with how we are depicted.