Lack of coverage hurt student group

The African Students' Association recently held a cultural extravaganza called Touch of Africa on Feb. 28. This event marked the end of Black History Month and was one of the highlights of the International Week at Penn State.

Touch of Africa was a major cultural opportunity for University students and State College residents to experience the culture, heritage and traditions of Africa. Indeed, more than 600 people attended, including such dignitaries as the mayor of State College.

The African Students' Association was deeply offended by the lack of coverage in the Collegian. As you may recall, this also occurred last year. It is our opinion that you and your staff have shown a lack of cultural awareness and sensitivity, to say the least.

Because most of the funding for Touch of Africa was through the student activities fee, we feel that this was reason alone for you to at least mention the event in your paper.

One of your reporters interviewed the secretary of the African Students' Association a week before Touch of Africa and the event was advertised in your Monday, Wednesday and Friday editions the week of the event.

You cannot, therefore, claim that you and your staff had no prior knowledge of Touch of Africa.

The African Students' Association, the more than 600 guests at Touch of Africa and all people of African descent at Penn State demand and deserve an explanation for this deliberate slight from the Collegian.

Jimmy Adegoke
president, African Students' Association

Editor's Note: The Daily Collegian regrets not covering the event, Touch of Africa. The mistake was not an intentional slight against any particular group of students or the African Students' Association.

'Womyn' should stop arguing over words

Since you have decided to change the spelling of the English language, I would like to offer a couple more suggestions. "Menstruate" -- this is a word that I don't particularly like having associated with my gender.

You could replace the "e" with a "y" like before, but that is too easy and boring. A womyn thing to do would be to eliminate the word entirely and just say a broad term, such as "ovulate." This would be quite nice, given that men would no longer be able to ask you if you were experiencing PMS, as it would just be an undefined acronym.

Another word has been bothering me -- "human."

Maybe the word should be changed to something with no gender -- perhaps sock or drawer. This way we could all just be called drawers.

Might I suggest that we just find a string of three letters to replace "man" and "men" any time they occur. Perhaps the "m" could be changed to a "p." You could be called "wopen." Unfortunately, wopen, I have discovered another gender error in our language. I am a male and you all are fe(males)!

Something must be done! My suggestion would be to propose a new language, not based on any proven method of communication that requires the use of gender words (i.e. Latin, French, Spanish, English and any other language). This way wopen would no longer be under the oppressive ways of the males using the English language.

And hey, if nobody wants to learn your new and improved language you could move to a deserted island and let the rest of us live in a society of decreasing gender boundaries and more women in the workplace.

Paul Nuschke
junior-electrical engineering