In Dana Mathews' column, "Bahamian life more than sandy white beaches," Jan. 23, she starts off by making an irrelevant trial in the Bahamas appear to be all the local gossip as relevant to us. But in reality, back here in the U.S. it seems trivial to my life as a student here at Penn State.

Although she makes the point in discussing the differences between the courts in the Bahamas and the U.S., is this really what concerns us as students? Most students are thinking about where the next party is more or less; we aren't concerned about the legal systems in other countries, unless we are forced to experience them first hand by mistake.

Further along in the column, she talks about her cultural experience in a food market. As a student looking to explore different cultures, I personally would rather hear her talk about experiences like the food market, the nightlife and how we as tourists can witness the culture in depth as if we were the insiders ourselves.

For those who have not been to the Bahamas, don't worry, the Bahamas is not besieged by crime, as Mathews' narrative expresses. You probably will experience a country where its people are very much geared toward creating a happy atmosphere for their tourists because, after all, tourism accounts for a large portion of the gross domestic product of the Bahamas.