The Daily Collegian has managed to do something this semester that I didn't think possible -- shock me. Unfortunately, it is not a positive shock.

As journalists, you have a responsibility to report the facts. Obviously there will be different spins depending on who writes a story, but you all have a responsibility to make sure that your facts are correct.

Laura Kruczynski's review of Miss Saigon (" 'Miss Saigon' captivates with effects, skilled cast," Jan. 22) troubles me because this is the second story in two days that has had factual errors (the first being the story about the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation in Georgia). Miss Saigon was not, as Kruczynski reported, written by the same person as The Phantom of the Opera. Miss Saigon was written by Alan Boublil and Claude-Michel Schönberg, while The Phantom of the Opera was written by Lord Andrew Lloyd Webber. Boublil and Schönberg deserve the credit for their work, and it's not like the information is difficult to find.

I realize that this might seem like a trivial mistake. The mistake itself is small, but the issue it raises is not. Are the Collegian editors concerned that there have been very obvious factual deficiencies twice in two days? They should be. If you're not putting the smallest effort into checking your facts for the simplest reviews, what reason do your readers have to believe you put forth effort for the rest of your articles?