Angela Gates' column Thursday about racism was embarrassing for all involved. The point of my letter is not to chastise Gates for the opinions expressed, but for their inexcusably sloppy presentation.

Gates claims her "archaic" father "is not the most versed on . . . issues . . . concerning racism and white privilege," but offers only a vague anecdote about a department store and that ol' Tommy Jefferson had slaves as evidence of her own insight into the world of race and privilege. No actual data, quotes or statistics are offered.

I marveled at the three paragraphs describing her father's appearance.

The information was either embarrassingly extraneous or meant to inspire assumptions about his personality and intelligence by saying he looks like the Brawny towel guy and has a gap in his teeth.

Ironic, no?

If the simplistic, unfocused nature of the essay resembles how she spoke to her dad, no wonder he's skeptical of white privilege. Perhaps quoting someone who made her case eloquently would be more effective in enlightening him (and us readers, for that matter).

In the third-to-last paragraph, we learn this lumbering tale was meant to clear the Collegian of unspecified claims of race bias.

Describing the charges and discrediting them may have been a more productive, and readable, use of the column. I am begging the Collegian for coherent columns that actually inform rather than offer anecdote and ignorance in lieu of substance.