Hello TFP, I'm looking to submit a letter to the editor for my college newspaper. I have mediocre writing skills at best so I'm hoping some of you will be willing to help me be clearly understood and not sound like an idiot. Here is the letter:
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There is a debate that could have and should have taken place before the vote about whether or not the new gender minorities seat created in student government is truly needed on this campus. The debate is taking place now on the college forums, and for anyone interested in hearing both sides of the issue I would suggest going there. I have not seen a single individual reply that the students of the LGBT community do not deserve representation because they are members of said community. Wherever the “closeted homophobia” on this campus is, I have not found it yet. The April 9 editorial illustrated perfectly what has already become one of the greatest problems facing not only this college, but the entire country. This problem is not about the rights of “X” minority group, nor is it about apathy toward political duties. It is an unwillingness to genuinely understand and work with those who hold an opposing viewpoint. We are all to quick to vilify and slander the other side of a politically divisive issue in an attempt to discredit them rather than try to understand why they hold a certain belief. Real progress and needed social change arise out of open debate and understanding. Understanding is something I saw no attempt at by the [Paper Name] editorial board and I believe that we as as student body should expect more.
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For those curious curious it is in response to an editorial, about which the paper said "Unsigned editorials published in the commentary section reflect the opinion of the
Paper Name as determined by the editorial board." The editorial was about a vote which had recently take place on our campus over the addition of a "gender minorities" seat to the voting student government body. The article basically spends half a page claiming that anyone who would vote against the proposal is a bigot and homophobe. To give you a quick quote
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Forty-eight percent of the 463 votes cast by students declared the [College Name] community's opposition to social equality, resistance to social change, desire to supress a significant and growing minority voice and their closeted homophobia.
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Yes I voted against it, hence the letter. If you want to know why we can talk about it in PM's or if there is serious interest by more than a few, I'll write it up in my journal. Yes, I go to a tiny liberal arts college.