Why is it that, in the ubiquitous coverage of welfare reform, the media choose to quote everyone but welfare recipients? The Jan. 31 Daily Collegian article "Debate continues with welfare reform" is a case in point. This front-page story quoted a staff aide for the House Ways and Means Committee, an assistant professor of economics at Penn State, and a spokesperson for Pennsylvania's Department of Public Welfare, but there were no quotes from anyone on welfare.

Don't you think that an article on changing the American welfare system would be enhanced by the point of view of those who are currently served by the system? Furthermore, isn't it your journalistic responsibility to share with your readers what folks receiving Aid to Families with Dependent Children (ADFC) or other benefits think about the suggested reforms?

Perhaps in a future article, The Daily Collegian will ask those who receive welfare:

-- What kinds of changes do they think are needed in the current system?

-- What is the reality of providing for a family on an average of $370 a month?

-- How much extra money can a mother earn in addition to her grant before her grant is reduced?

-- What kind of child care is currently available to allow for educational opportunities and job training? What kind of child care is necessary? (Isn't it ironic that, in a nation promoting "family values," the parent who has remained with the children and is caring for them is not considered to be "working"?)

I hope to see a Collegian article in which people on welfare are interviewed about the proposed changes. Let this "debate" include those most affected by it.